White Diamond's Abomination
by GrimmoftheQueen
Summary: They came back home, their house was trashed and Jasper's gem was missing. Things continue to get stranger producing more questions and revealing horrific truths from a long time ago. It seemed like Pink Diamond wasn't the only one who had secrets.
1. Someone Was Here

"Hmm..."

"What happened here?!" Pearl yelled.

"It looks like someone destroyed the inside of the house," Garnet stated making Pearl give her a dirty look.

"Man someone tore through here... Were they looking for something?"

"Why would someone destroy the house?" Steven asked looking upset.

"It looks more like something rampaged through here actually..." Garnet said as her gaze went up to the Temple door.

"You think something came through the Temple?"

She nodded and Pearl tapped her chin.

"It's never happened before but something could've popped it's bubble and got out... No one can get in..." Garnet said walking towards the Temple door.

The four of them headed up to the door and they walked in. No other gems were laying on the ground and the place looked undisturbed.

"Everyone... Stand here."

Steven, Pearl and Amethyst watched as Garnet went through the bubbles. She waved at them to join in. After fifteen minutes Amethyst finally spoke up.

"Jasper isn't here."

Steven looked at Garnet. He felt worried because Jasper was corrupted the last time they had saw her.

"I guess this means we have to look for her," Pearl said placing her hands on her hips, "She could be anywhere in Beach City."

"If she had popped her bubble in here, wouldn't she had popped the others?" Steven asked.

Garnet stated at him then nodded.

"No one else could open the Temple. Right?" Pearl said covering her mouth.

"They only got Jasper. Does that mean someone was looking just for her?" Amethyst asked scratching her head.

"At this point it is possible... I would think only a Diamond would be strong enough to break through the door but..."

"We can ask Peridot, she's in the bathroom still."

The three gems stared at Steven.

Everyone ran out of the Temple, heading for the bathroom.

"Peridot!" Pearl yelled, "Are you in there?"

"Y-yes! But...the doorknob is broken!"

"I'll get a screwdriver and take it off. How did it get broken anyways?" Pearl asked.

"I tried using my metal powers."

Steven smiled and shrugged at Pearl who was clearly annoyed. After a few minutes, Pearl managed to pop the door knob on their side off and unlocked it. The other half ended up falling onto the bathroom floor throwing screws in every direction. The Crystal Gems stared at Peridot. Pumpkin was hiding in the bathtub visibly shaken.

"What's wrong with Pumpkin?" Steven asked climbing into the bathtub.

"She's scared."

"What happened here? Did you hear anything?" Garnet asked.

"I heard a loud commotion. I wasn't sure if you was Steven and Amethyst but it seemed very likely. Then I heard a loud roar and a female human voice. I tried to open the door with my powers and it ended up jamming so I was stuck here. I really don't know anything else than that."

"Did you hear anything she had said?" Pearl asked.

Peridot shook her head, "It was hard to make out the words but it definitely didn't belong to anyone I had come across before."

"They took Jasper," Amethyst said, "Why would a human female come in here and take something they know nothing about?"

"It had to be something... Homeworld wouldn't be looking for Jasper no matter how perfect she came out. That's why no one came after us all this time."

"This isn't ok... Human beings shouldn't be able to access the Temple."

"What should we do then?" Amethyst asked, "We can search the city but there is no telling where Jasper might be."

"I can go on Lion with Peridot and Pumpkin."

Garnet placed a hand on the top of Steven's head, messing up his hair.

"That sounds like a good idea Steven. Pearl, Amethyst... Go together. Just in case we run into her, we need to be ready."

"You think Steven and I could face her like that?!" Peridot snapped climbing back into the tub.

"You did it once before," Amethyst said with a sly smile on her face.

"Come on Peridot!"

X

X

After a few hours Steven and Peridot stopped by the other end of Beach City. The sun had already gone down and Steven had called Pearl to tell her they hadn't found anything. He was getting tired and it was getting closer to his bedtime anyways. Peridot seemed frustrated but she was relieved that they never ran into her.

"It's so odd..."

"What is?" he asked kicking the sand around.

"Only the inside of the house was destroyed... So... Someone..."

"Someone what?"

"Ugh! It makes no sense!" she yelled at the sky as she pulled on her yellow hair.

X

X

"Any other ideas?" Pearl asked.

Peridot was sitting on the floor. She gazed up at Steven who was asleep by Garnet on the couch.

"I have one but... You all may not like it."

Everyone looked at the small, green gem.

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked quietly.

"You remember the fused shards back in Amethyst's kindergarten?"

The three of them nodded.

"Maybe... there's a working able bodied fusion like that on this planet and they came across the Temple and opened up the room. Maybe it was drawn in by Jasper's power and decided to take it. Jasper got loose and started causing problems then it poofed her to carry her out of here without being seen."

Amethyst looked up at Garnet, "I think that's the best thing we can say right now. "

"You seemed very interested in this Amethyst. I'm surprised," Pearl said.

"Well... I want to help save her. She isn't like the other corruptions. We actually know her."

Garnet smiled.

"We can look more in the morning. Everyone, get some rest. We are going to have a busy day tomorrow."

X

X

The result was the same the next few days. No one had seen anything similar to the gems and no one with a big, spiky orange monster either. Jasper was dangerous whether she was corrupted or not but it was weird someone could walk right in without issue. They would've had an idea who this person was if Peridot hadn't locked herself inside the bathroom.

After the sixth day, they just sat at the beach house waiting.

"I'm so... I should've used my hand to open the door."

"No, you didn't cause the door to lock."

Steven looked at Pearl, "What do you mean? Peridot said she did."

"I know but... it wasn't her who broke the doorknob. Once I started fiddling with it to see if I could fix it, that's when I found a sewing needle and thread in the lock. It was like someone did on purpose knowing Peridot was in the bathroom. They have been watching us or they can sense us..."

"I guess I can ask Dad to buy another doorknob then."

The gems smiled at him. Everyone was thinking the same thing...

 _Did the Diamonds send someone here?_

"I think I'm going to go outside," Steven said.

"I'll go with you. No one should be alone right now," Peridot announced.

Steven and Peridot sat outside. The small waves crashed against the sand softly. With everything going on, Steven didn't feel like eating much. Everyone seemed on edge that someone or something was in their home without too many problems and they took the strongest bubbled gem in the Temple.

"Do you think Lapis did it?" Steven asked softly.

Peridot snapped to the side. Her mouth hung open and some weird came out but that was all.

"I... I remember Jasper and Garnet both saying Lapis was really strong... You think maybe she was so afraid of the Diamonds coming back she took Jasper and she might try uncorrupting her?"

"It's possible. I didn't see her coming back... ever again."

Peridot hung her head and Steven put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think she'll come back home when she's ready."

"Thanks Steven. That is a nice thought."


	2. Dreams of Lapis Lazuli

Steven and Peridot had expressed their concern that Lapis might be behind everything but it seemed more than likely a no. Lapis _hated_ Jasper more than anyone else and it seemed out of the question she would want anything to do with the giant quartz. Steven and everyone else seemed depressed about the whole situation. Nothing was getting any better.

"What else could we try?" Steven asked.

"I'm not sure."

"I wish Mom was here to help us. It might make things easier."

"I know Steven. We wish she was here too."

"This is getting tiring. There's no way to contact Lapis now with her in outer space somewhere."

"Yea."

The Crystal Gems were feeling beat down after searching so much.

"Maybe we should look at the people who visited lately? Rose looked almost human... Maybe a gem reshaped itself to look human," Peridot said shrugging, "It is the only other possibility there is."

"We can try. There's nothing wrong with trying. We can interview some people and see where they're from. If it is a gem then their answers will be off," Steven said.

Garnet smiled.

"I think we should try just that. We can go around and start asking people we already know if they've seen anything weird."

Peridot decided to follow Steven again because basic human interaction was now easy for her. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst ended up splitting up to ask everyone questions. After some time they came to the other side of Beach City. The sandy beaches weren't as pretty as the one they lived on but it was a good vacation spot if you wanted some privacy.

The sand was darker and it had more rocks so it made walking barefoot more dangerous. There were at least fifty people in the beach area and water combined. Peridot made it a point she was not going to talk to anyone but study Steven's interaction with them. He only shrugged and started talking with people.

After two hours of talking to most of the people there they had no information. Peridot had everything written down everything everyone had said to Steven and what they looked like. The only thing the people had said was weird was Peridot herself. They returned home defeated and annoyed.

X

X

"No matter what we do its not getting us anywhere. Are we thinking too much of what could be instead of impossible?" Pearl asked.

"You might be right," the fusion said looking like she was deep in thought.

"OK so we just list down what would be impossible then," Peridot said, "I took down notes of everyone and no one said anything out of the ordinary."

"Can I read them?" Pearl asked.

The smaller gem handed over her tablet and Pearl started reading it.

"What about another me?" Steven asked.

Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst all stared at him.

"That isn't out of the question. If your leader figured it out then I'm sure other gems did the stayed on the planet."

"You're right. More than her would've figured it out."

Pearl looked down at Steven, "Rose was different I'm not sure it would be the same for everyone else."

Everyone gave her a strange look making her cheeks turn blue.

"I suppose that's true. The gems from the first few generations have more power than the newer ones because resources are scarce. From what I understood that they wiped all the gems out unless some had the same defensive capabilities as Rose Quartz did."

The Crystal Gems fell silent thinking about their leader.

"We could look things up on the internet and see if we can find anyone who is willing to reach out to us. Some might stay in hiding fearing what they are or that the Diamonds might get them," Steven suggested.

"I think that's a good idea!" Pearl said placing a hand on Steven's shoulder, "Maybe we'll get lucky!"

X

X

"I can't believe it's been a week already."

"I'm sorry everyone..."

"Steven it's not your fault. You have been coming up with good ideas," Garnet said trying to reassure him.

"It's a shame we couldn't ask Lapis. I really don't think she would have any idea either considering she thought it was strange Steven was half human," Peridot said.

"That may be true but it's worth asking," Pearl said.

"Maybe I can fall asleep and try talking to her like last time?" Steven asked.

"Look at this guy! He's coming up with ideas left and right!" Amethyst said making Steven blush.

"Are you tired now?" Garnet asked giving him a small smile.

"Not yet. Is it OK if I go outside and walk the town?" Steven asked.

They nodded and he took off outside.

Steven walked the city for an hour before getting some bits and continuing his walking. He was walking past Funland when he saw a young woman standing there. He couldn't tell how old she looked, she could've been seventeen or eighteen but he wasn't sure. She looked at him like she sensed him staring at her.

She offered a small wave to him and she disappeared down the road behind some trees. Steven scratched his head and shrugged. It was summer time so it wasn't unusual to see people wandering around Beach City. He decided to head home since it was almost dinner time anyways.

X

"If you need us Steven just call for us," Garnet said giving him a hug and kiss.

"I will!"

Steven got settled in bed and he drifted off to sleep.

 _Steven looked around. He was somewhere among the stars but he didn't see any of the planets in the Milky Way so that meant he was somewhere else. He felt himself floating around and suddenly he was pushed forward at a high speed. He yelled in surprise causing him to come to a screeching halt._

 _"Steven?"_

 _Steven turned around to see Lapis. She was just floating there._

 _"How did you get here? I thought you needed air to live?"_

 _"I'm at home and asleep. Something has happened and I needed to ask you a question."_

 _Fear overcame Lapis' face._

 _"No! No Diamonds I promise."_

 _Lapis gave him a leery smile but nodded._

 _"What can I help you with?"_

 _"I'm not trying to scare you but someone broke into my house and stole Jasper's gem. The weird thing is they were able to get into the Temple. Only the Crystal Gems should be able to get in there. Peridot said she heard a female voice but she didn't recognize it."_

 _"That is weird... Why would anyone want to steal Jasper?" Lapis asked looking annoyed just thinking of the giant quartz solider._

 _"Peridot said that maybe something was attracted to her power and popped her bubble to take her because the house was trashed. Do you know of anyone who break the magic on the Temple?"_

 _Lapis shook her head._

 _"I have no idea. I never tried it and neither did Peridot. If anything see if Peridot could try opening it. Maybe there was a stray gem and they were smart enough to break in to get to Jasper."_

 _"That's a good idea Lapis!"_

 _"I'm sorry I couldn't help more Steven."_

 _"You're fine Lapis!"_

 _They stayed there in awkward silence for a few minutes._

 _"I have to go Steven."_

 _"OK. We miss you Lapis. You can come home whenever you want. Be safe."_

 _Lapis gave him a sad smile and passed by him waving._

Steven sat up and looked around his room. It was dark and about four in the morning already. He got up and walked to the bathroom. After he was finished he came out to see Garnet sitting on the bench by the window.

"Garnet? Is everything OK?" he asked.

"Yes. Did you talk to Lapis?"

Steven nodded.

"She didn't know much but she gave an idea to try in the morning if you want to know about it."

Garnet smiled, "Anything at this point is worth trying."

Steven sat down beside of her before he started talking to her of his talk with Lapis Lazuli.

 _ **Thank you sonic! I'm glad you did :)**_


	3. A Small Try

"You want me to try and open the Temple?" Peridot asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Garnet said flatly.

Peridot crossed her arms and looked away.

"I don't know. What if there is some repercussion to trying to open it? Will it shatter me?"

"We didn't think of that... The star doesn't have an extra point on it to have another room added. Rose never said anything but there was only us at that time then we added Amethyst because there was a blank spot."

After a while, they had decided against it. It was unsure if Peridot would be OK trying to open the door.

But deep down...

She wanted to try.

When she demanded Steven fix the galaxy Warp when she had kidnapped him, she paid no attention to the Temple's door. If she had her screen and limb enhancers she would be able to see something about the door... if there was anything about it. She didn't want to try the door around everyone and she was afraid to do it by herself.

Every night for a few days Peridot would come out of the bathroom and stare at the Temple door. When she was still part of Homeworld, she would've tried the door if she was ordered too without question but now... On her own, she liked living. She didn't want to risk it all for nothing.

"This is stupid."

She went back to the bathroom again.

Ten minutes later she came back out and sat at the kitchen island staring at the door.

 _I can do this... There is nothing to it... I can... I can go through it. They gave me permission to go through the door. I can do this. I can do this. I can do-_

"You need some help?"

Peridot jumped and nearly fell off of the stool she was on. Garnet had come through the front door with a smile on her face.

"I don't even know if I need help," Peridot stated,

"I can hold your hand while you try."

Peridot gave her a nervous smile, "Um... you don't have to do that but if you stand beside of me that would be a little better."

Garnet couldn't help but smile.

"Alright then. Let's head over there and give it a go. If anything weird starts to happen, I'll be sure to pull you away in time, ok?"

The smaller gem nodded and they the few feet to the door.

"Are you ready?" Garnet asked.

Peridot swallowed hard and nodded.

"If anything place your forehead against the door and close your eyes. The room in the Temple is made just for you and you only. Everyone's rooms are linked together but it is slightly dangerous to travel to each one. Once your room is there, it'll stay. Be confident... I believe in you."

"You make it sound so sure I will make it."

Garnet only smiled and gave her a gentle push towards the door.

"Give it a try. Just a small try. If it doesn't work then it'll be fine."

Peridot sighed and took a deep breath even though it wasn't necessary for survival for her kind but it did help ease her nerves. She placed her forehead against the Temple door and closed her eyes. She waited. She had her eyes closed so tight she never saw the flash of green light.

Garnet grinned as the door opened up and Peridot fell through it. She jumped up and looked around. Her jaw dropped in amazement. The room was bright green with giant pieces of peridot coming out of the floor and walls. There was a giant computer with a green chair just for someone of Peridot's size.

Peridot looked at Garnet and the fusion gave her a nod.

"Come in with me?" she asked quietly.

Garnet smiled and walked inside with her.

"I can't believe this... I... I don't know what to think."

"It looks like gems can make rooms regardless of how many there are. Do you know what this means?" Garnet asked as Peridot took a seat.

"If the rooms are connected then that means the gem who broke in made a room and maybe we can find something inside."

"Exactly right."

"What should we do now?" Peridot asked.

"You should enjoy your room. I'm sure you always wanted something like this back on Homeworld, right?"

She nodded.

"I'll wait for everyone else to wake up. I'll be back soon ok?"

"Ok. Come get me when you're ready."

X

X

"SHE MADE A ROOM!?" Pearl screamed.

Steven looked over at the Temple door but it only showed the original Crystal Gems.

"If she made her own room wouldn't it have showed up?" he asked.

"That's what I thought too. I'll call Peridot out and see what happens. She will open her door again and we will see what happens."

Everyone nodded.

"Peridot! Can you come out?"

The door suddenly had a bright green grid on it and it disappeared as Peridot walked through it.

"Hello everyone."

"How do you like your new room!?" Amethyst asked with a smile.

"I love it. It's nice to access something other than my tablet but I love my tablet too. Have you discovered anything else?"

"Your color isn't on the star."

Peridot nodded and turned around, "I figured that. I was busy working on studying the Temple. It seems I have learned some new information if you would like to come into my room and see."

Everyone nodded. The door opened up as the green grid disappeared. They stepped inside and the door shut off behind them. Everyone was in awe of Peridot's new room. She booted up her files searching until she came to the one of the Temple. She loaded it up on the screen for everyone to see.

"Ok. Since the five points are already filled, there is no way my room will show. The reason being is my room is at the bottom of the Temple. Your rooms are the top and middle. If the star had more points it would show up. I know that maybe obvious but it had to be said."

"So... the intruder made a room also is what you're saying," Pearl said.

"Exactly but there is a problem."

"What do you mean?" Garnet asked.

"If you made a room so simply then what is the problem?" Amethyst asked.

"The gem who made a room... it disappears and appears."

They looked at each other.

"What?"

"For how long?" Steven asked.

"I did watch. My computer can access the rooms of the Temple but I can't actually see in them. I can only see they exist if that makes sense. In a pattern it shows up at four and ten AM. It stays for thirty minutes then it's gone."

"So we have a thirty minute window to explore it."

Peridot nodded.

"I predict that it would show at four and ten PM as well. Since my room is new, I can only access the information after my room was created. This room has appeared beside of my mine then Garnet's. It is so strange... It's like it doesn't want to be found or it is difficult for anyone to access it. I think maybe it was a rush job but I can't say for sure."

"Well then... We wait for four PM then," Pearl said with a smile.

"Precisely. We can separate into our own rooms then scatter from there once the clock hits four."

"Sounds like a plan. We just have to make sure we are ready for anything."


	4. Clock Room

Everyone stood in their own room waiting for four. Peridot was in her own room and she could easily tell then which room the new one would be by. Once the clock clicked to four, Peridot watched as the new room popped up. It appeared under Steven's room but above her own.

"STEVEN! BELOW YOUR ROOM!"

Luckily for everyone she had a loud voice for such a small body. Steven made his way out of room to see the dark hallway. It wasnt anything like the other passages to everyone else's room... It looked scary. He swallowed hard and headed into the darkness.

As he got closer he could hear a ticking noise and some beeping. There was a faint bluish glow from down the hall. He crept closer ready to use his shield if something decided to pop out. He came upon a metal door that was covered in neon blue chains. Steven looked closer to see there were neon blue words.

 _Once you enter the change of time flies by. You become lost and realize that that pain was happiness._

He touched the door and the door disappeared. He saw Garnet standing inside already.

"How did you get here so fast?" Steven asked.

She looked down at him, "I ran."

He looked around seeing the walls were covered in all kinds of clocks.

"What do the clocks have to do with anything? Does the gem like telling time?"

"I think it's the time it spent in different places but some of it has old or strange human language I don't understand."

Steve looked down at the floor his eyes widened in shock.

"Garnet... Why is there a picture of White Diamond on the floor?"

Garnet looked down but the picture was nothing like the mural on the moon. It was the outline of her with the diamond on her head. There were clocks around her with weird symbols. Garnet looked back up to see Steven taking pictures.

"Maybe Peridot can download the pictures and study them until ten. Then we can try again."

Garnet smiled, "That's a good idea."

"FIVE MINUTES!"

"Let's go Steven."

X

X

"These are definitely strange. I know some of this as gem words but it's really old words. I can't even make some of this out. I find it strange it was mostly clocks."

"Could it mean time it spent in different cities at different periods?" Pearl asked.

"It doesn't look right. The pictures Steven has taken has depicted that it started with an old dead human language then into gem language. I would find it too strange that a gem would have human language unless it was dropped off here once it emerged..."

"Why don't we go back in there?" Steven asked.

"We should. Maybe you could retrieve one of the clocks for me?"

"I don't know. It might make the room crumble," Garnet said, "It's one thing taking things in there it's another to pull from the room."

Peridot tapped her chin.

"If you want, I'll do it," Steven asked, "We can take more pictures first."

"That will be fine. I want everyone to be ready for the next time the room shows up. I wonder if maybe it'll change."

"You think we could change our rooms? I never even tried," Pearl said.

"It may be possible. We don't know who or what came in here. We don't know what they wanted Jasper for, if they were after her in the first place or if it was random. There's too many unknowns."

"Could it be a gem wanting to go back home?" Amethyst asked, "Lapis Lazuli didn't like the way it looked and how it was."

"Maybe it crashed it's ship here."

"It's hard to tell. We can just research the room again," Peridot said turning around.

"I guess I'll take a nap," Steven said, "If I have to be up late it's better to sleep now."

Steven left Peridot's room.

"You think... It's something more than a gem? More like Steven?" Amethyst asked.

"Like I said... It's not unheard of. If Rose Quartz could then it's possible. BUT it doesn't explain why they grabbed Jasper."

X

X

"When Peridot says go, go. We have no time to waste. Amethyst and Steven are in charge of taking pictures. Pearl and I will rip one of the clocks off the wall."

Everyone nodded and headed for their rooms in the Temple. The moment it hit ten at night everyone ran looking for the pathway to the clock room. No one wasted time and everyone pretty much reached the room within five minutes.

Amethyst and Steven took more pictures but Steven couldn't help but notice the floor looked more different. White Diamond was there but with a smaller figure stood beside her but it was blank.

"Maybe it's a gem that belonged to White Diamond?" Steven asked.

Steven took a few pictures of the floor. Pearl and Garnet tries pulling one of the older clocks off the wall but it wouldn't come off. Steven watched them try and try again until Amethyst tried helping them but it didn't work. They wasted fifteen minutes trying.

"It just won't come off!" Pearl yelled in frustration.

"We have to try again! We have a little time left!"

"FIVE MINUTES!"

They left the room and watched as the door closed and disappeared. They walked back to Peridot's room slightly defeated.

"Maybe Peridot will figure out something," Steven said giving them a smile.

X

X

Steven was sleeping away when Peridot finally emerged from her room. She cleared her throat and the Crystal Gems stared at her.

"It seems I have some information."

"What did you find out?" Pearl asked.

"Since I have pictures of everything clock in the room... I figured out what language was used."

"Lay it in us Peri!"

"The language is no longer spoken today but it starts off with Anicent Greek. There's some clocks with Latin as well. Then it spans over to more modern Greek until the fourth wall is Modern Greek."

"How old is that language anyways?" Pearl asked, "I know some humans have kept the same language..."

"The gem itself is at least 2,500 years old."

They looked at each other.

"Hm... Maybe a stray gem that abandoned the war and learned human language to blend in?" Garnet asked allowed.

"It seems so. The Diamonds don't keep a record of who belonged to them so it would be hard to tell who this faceless gem was. Being the fact White Diamond largely impacted on that room that gem must've been more important than a mere Pearl."

Pearl made a face.

"No offense. I just wonder... Everyone should've been wiped out."

"This is a big mystery."

"What do we do now?" Amethyst asked, "There's nothing we can do now. We hit a dead end again."

"We can go in the room again..." Pearl said.

Amethyst rolled her eyes, "We already did that. Twice. We aren't getting anywhere!"

"I guess we search the city again."

Amethyst groaned.

It was becoming redundant.


	5. A Diamond's Love

Steven stared at the floor as Peridot studied the faceless Gem. They had went into the room twelve more times since they tried pulling a clock off of the wall. Peridot had a timer on her tablet so they could escape before the room disappeared. Since Lapis Lazuli wasn't there anymore, Steven kind of became her sidekick.

The rest of the Crystal Gems had went to Beach City downtown to looked for Jasper or the faceless gem that had stolen her from the Temple. Peridot studied every inch of the floor as long as she could before time was running out every time they were in there. Steven didn't understand why she was so interested in the floor when the clock seemed so much more interesting to him. Being in there without much sleep in between was starting to get to him.

"You know what is so interesting about this floor?" Peridot asked.

"No."

She turned to see the bored look on his face, "What? You don't like being in here?"

"No... Since we can't pull the clocks off it seems kind of pointless."

She rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying... You know what is so interesting about this floor?"

"No, what?"

"White Diamond's diamond is showing on her forehead... This gem has no gem on it. I thought maybe the floor would change again but it hasn't."

Steven perked up a bit, "You... That's true!"

"I feel like I am missing something but I can't seem to figure out what it is... It's impossible for it to be a human being. They expire after eighty to one hundred years...Also if it was anything like you... then there would be a gem somewhere. Also... It's impossible to tell how long you'll live."

Steven looked uncomfortable but Peridot was right.

"Did White Diamond like human beings like Pink Diamond?" he asked.

Peridot looked up at him.

 _Riiiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggggggg_

 _Rinngggggggggg_

 _Rinnnnnnnnggggggggggg_

"Time to go!"

They left the room and walked down the hallway after the door disappeared. They came back into Peridot's room. She walked to the Temple door to exit the room when she noticed Steven wasn't right behind her. She saw he was looking at her computer screen where she outlined the faceless gem that was by White Diamond.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Steven turned to her, "Oh... yea. I'm coming."

X

X

Steven woke up about three- forty five in the morning. He walked into the bathroom to see that Peridot was asleep with Pumpkin in the bathtub. Garnet was gone and so was Pearl. Amethyst was asleep on the couch. He wondered...

 _I should go into the room myself. By myself._

Steven went to the Temple door and he entered his fluffy cloud room. He made his way to Peridot's room to her giant computer. He remembered a few times that would walk around and talk. The computer would take down notes for her.

"Um... computer?"

The screen went blank then a blinking cursor appeared.

"Can you show the Clock Room?"

The words appeared on the screen and flashed a few times before the map of the Temple showed up. It looked like the Clock Room would appear below Peridot's room. It hit four and a door appeared by the Temple door. Steven took a breath and walked to it. He pulled it open and the door slammed shut behind him.

Instead of the normal hallway, he was directly in the room. The room looked totally different now. The clocks were on the ceiling now except one. The clock was a grandfather clock. Steven walked up to it and touched the glass. Words appeared.

 _Do you want to know?_

"Know what?" Steven asked.

 _Everything._

"You know everything?"

 _I know you want to know about me. All I can do is show some memories._

"Oh... Why didn't you want to show me earlier?" Steven asked, "I've been here before."

 _I know who you are._

Steven felt his heart jump.

"Who do you think I am?"

 _I know who are but you aren't who you are anymore. I am talking to you because you're human._

"You know who Rose Quartz is?" Steven asked allowed.

 _Haha... I heard of the tale. I knew her before she was that._

"Oh... What does that mean?"

 _Not my place._

Steven said nothing.

 _Open the door._

"Ok."

Steven took a deep breath and opened the door.

X

 _X_

 _Steven looked around after he opened his eyes._

" _Where am I?" he asked._

 _A black shadow walked up beside of him._

" _Memories."_

" _I don't see anything."_

" _Give it time."_

 _Suddenly the room was filled with light. Color came into focus. Steven stood in the corner and looked around seeing the shadow was gone. He realized he was seeing the memories from the shadow's point of view. As he looked around the room to see White Diamond sitting there._

" _Nephele."_

" _My Diamond?"_

 _White Diamond chuckled and turned to face him._

" _Nephele... We have no one else here. No reason to be so formal. We are way past that."_

" _White Diamond... What are you thinking about?"_

 _She got up from her chair and knelt down beside of him. Steven was in awe of how White Diamond looked. She seemed so motherly and almost ghost like. White Diamond held out her hand and he walked onto it. White Diamond's face looked like it was filled with sorrow._

" _Nephele. If things continue they way are with Pink Diamond I may have to send you away."_

 _Curiosity and sadness hit Steven like a semi truck._

" _Why would you send me away?"_

" _I have been wanting to for a while."_

" _I don't understand-_

" _White Diamond!"_

 _Steven looked to see Yellow Diamond standing there as the door slid open completely._

" _Ugh, you still have that off color?"_

" _Not all off colors are smash able. Eritque Arcus is quite unique."_

 _Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes,_

" _We have to talk to Pink Diamond. It seems this Rose Quartz is causing more problems."_

" _I figured so."_

 _Steven watched as the room went black and everything came into focus again._

" _Nephele."_

 _His eyes focused and he saw a much shorter White Diamond barely a foot taller than him now._

" _What happened? I heard shouting!"_

" _Pink... she... has been shattered."_

" _We both know that is impossible."_

 _White Diamond gave her a smile, "That's the word anyway. It seems... everyone has some secrets huh?"_

" _Yes."_

 _White Diamond stepped closer. She took Steven's hand. He could tell it belonged to a female._

" _Nephele... I guess our reign together has come to an end."_

 _Steven felt sadness overcome him._

" _I don't want to leave and I can't be smashed."_

 _White Diamond laughed and looked away, "I made you that way and it's my fault. I should have thought about the future than what I wanted at that moment."_

" _White Diamond... Tell me what you want!"_

" _I'm sending you back to Earth. It's safe now."_

 _Steven pulled his hand away._

" _I refuse."_

" _I know but this time... I have too."_

 _Tears appeared in her white eyes._

" _Then come with me."_

 _White Diamond looked down, "You know I can't do that."_

" _It's not fair!"_

 _She placed her hands on his shoulders, "I know. What I did was so unfair but I did it to you anyways."_

 _Steven pushed her away._

" _Nephele! Please!"_

 _Steven felt the tears on his face._

 _"I love you more than anything else. I never needed another gem around. I gave away my pearl and half of my soldiers. If I could guarantee you would be ok without being hurt I would let you stay. You can live there and be yourself. Go love someone."_

" _I can't because I only love you."_

 _White Diamond fell to her knees and hugged Steven's waist with her face in his stomach._

" _What I did wasn't right and this is the only way I can fix it now."_

 _Steven placed a hand under White Diamond's chin and held up her face._

" _I will go but you have to make a promise."_

" _Anything Nephele."_

" _I can come home to you one day. Whether you come and get me or I come back to you."_

 _White Diamond stood up._

" _I promise."_

 _Everything went black._

 _X_

 _X_

Steven opened his eyes and saw he was in the Clock Room.

"Wow."

 _Things were not how they seemed._

"Is she still here?"

 _I am._

"Can I help her?"

 _Maybe._

"Nephele?"

 _Yes._

"If I help you... Can you promise they won't come to Earth?"

 _White Diamond created the Cluster but left a faulty piece to it so it wouldn't form completely so it wouldn't be destroyed. No one else knew but she wouldn't risk it. She has no interest in destroying this planet. I showed you everything because we have a lot more in common than you think._

"Can I meet you?"

 _You already have._

Suddenly, the room started to shake. Steven could hear the Crystal Gems calling his name. The ceiling started to fall in quickly. He pulled open the door and fell back into Peridot's room. Peridot and Amethyst jumped in surprise as he tumbled in.

"Steven!"

"Are you ok?"

The Temple stopped shaking.

"I... I have to go out."

Steven was out of the Temple and headed for the screen door when Garnet called his name. He turned around to stare at her. Pearl came out next then Peridot with Amethyst. Steven didn't realize it was already the afternoon time. He was in that room for more than day. He felt like the memories were a lot shorter than that.

Everything seemed to be happening so fast.

"Where are you going? What happened?" Garnet asked.

"I'm looking for Nephele. She kidnapped Jasper. She needs help."

 _ **This was not my intention for this chapter because I had the idea Steven would run into her again on his own but I figured this would shed some light on a few things and it was more interesting.**_


	6. Eritque Arcus

"You can't just leave and go looking for someone based on something that was shown to you! How do you know it wasn't a lie?!" Pearl asked throwing her hands into the air.

"I have to believe it. I don't feel like it was all a lie."

Garnet looked at his face and smiled, "Alright Steven. Let's follow you."

"What?! This is insane! That story is insane!"

"I never heard of a gem called Eritque Arcus," Peridot said, "I can look it up and see if I can find anything."

She started tapping away on her tablet screen as she headed outside.

"She needs our help. She just wants to get home," Steven said.

"Garnet-

"We are going together so everything will be fine."

They walked around the city calling out the name 'Nephele.' The only other place they hadn't checked was the other side of the semi private beaches. It was getting dark outside and Steven had started yawning but he wasn't going to give up. He started yawning more frequent than before.

"Maybe we should go home and forget about this," Pearl said looking worried and annoyed.

"You know what is so strange?" Peridot asked aloud.

"You," Amethyst said sticking out her tongue.

"No. The name Nephele and Eritque Arcus are from two different languages. They are extremely old names but they have meanings."

"Really? Why would a gem have different name?" Steven asked.

"Nephele means cloudy in ancient Greek. It has various other meanings but that one sticks out the most and Eritque Arcus means-

"Rainbow."

The Crystal Gems stopped in their tracks. They looked around for the body that the voice came from.

"Show yourself."

A woman barely nineteen or twenty came out from behind the rocks. It looked like she was sitting there waiting.

"Latin for Rainbow. She had to make up a name and I got that one. It's the best way to translate it since I got it a lot longer than the Latin language has existed."

They just stared at her.

"You were at the beach when Steven was interviewing all those people!" Peridot said.

She smiled.

"You look human..." Pearl said looking slightly confused.

Nephele smiled, "It is because I am human."

"Where is your gem?" Steven asked.

"Some place. I can't really show it to anyone."

"Why did you take Jasper?" Garnet asked.

"Because, I knew someone was nearby that I could ask for help. It turns out she has assumed a different form."

She looked at Steven, "You all know her as Rose Quartz and Steven apparently."

"Rose Quartz has been gone about fourteen years now."

The human looked at Pearl who seemed uncomfortable.

"Ah I see. It seems I am too late to ask for help."

"You wanted to go back home to White Diamond," Steven said.

Nephele nodded, "I have been wanting too for a long time."

"You know they tried to destroy this planet," Garnet said with annoyance in her voice.

"Yea, Pink Diamond wouldn't have wanted to do anything like that to her planet. She wasn't the type."

They looked at each other.

"How would you know anything?" Pearl asked.

Nephele smiled and looked at the ground.

"I hate showing off what I look like but I can't reform my clothes into anything else."

Nephele took off the big sweater she was wearing and her blue jeans. She took off her hat too. They stared at her. She looked so similar to a pearl it was almost believable she was one. Her hair was white with a blue tint. She wore a pale white and blue Burlesque dress that was longer in the back with ruffles and shorter in the front.

"Eritque Arcus, White Diamond's favorite human being."

They looked at each other.

"How are you still alive?" Amethyst asked.

"I am very special. It's not something to be proud of."

"Are you like me?" Steven asked.

Nephele shook her head, "It would have been easier if I was but no I'm not. The way I became this was way more painful than the way you came about."

"Then how did you come about?" Pearl asked.

"I came back through much more sinister ways."

She bent over and picked up her sweater. She reached in and pulled out a white bubble. It had Jasper's gem in the middle of it.

"I healed her."

"What?" Peridot said in disbelief, "How could you do something like that?"

"Corruption is a sickness of the mind. White Diamond said it takes a lot to heal one. Jasper was kind of out of it when I finished healing her. It's up to you to let her out."

Amethyst reached out and took Jasper's bubble.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I assume most of those gems in your home are corrupted or tried attacking you guys?"

"Yea," Garnet answered.

"Well good luck. I guess I will have to find another way home."

"You can come live with us," Steven offered.

Pearl shot him a dirty look, "We don't know her."

"That doesn't mean anything. She live there and be happy."

"Steven, don't worry. I am just happy knowing another human being understands me."

"We didn't talk too much."

"That's fine. I think I got how I felt through. You ever want to know anything, come find me."

"I think I would have a way to help you get half way home but it wouldn't be easy," Steven said.

"Don't worry about it. I have some more time to ponder."

She pulled on her clothes and gave them a wave.

X

X

Pearl returned back to the beach where they had found Nephele the next night. She searched and even called out her name. She seemed to have disappeared but Pearl wasn't going to give up. She needed to talk to her. She needed her to stay quiet.

"Eritque Arcus!"

"Yes Pearl?"

Pearl stiffened up at the woman's voice.

"Come out."

"I suppose this is about Pink?"

Nephele came out from behind some rocks. She was still in her hoodie, hat and jeans.

"It is. I don't know you or know what you do but you need to stay quiet."

"I find this quite amusing. You mean the fact Pink Diamond is really Steven? When are you going to tell him?"

"I-I can't. I made a promise."

She looked down at the ground.

"Nephele-

"No. It's Eritque Arcus. I can only allow White Diamond to use my name. Even Steven since he can do whatever he wants."

"I made a promise I would never speak of this to anyone."

"Jasper misses her Diamond."

"I know."

"You do too."

Pearl looked at the ground.

"Pink Diamond was never evil. I think she was pretty great."

Pearl blushed, "She always was."

"Your secret is safe with me. You will need to tell him some point."

"No one knows but me."

"That has to be very hard to hold in a secret for so long."

Pearl covered her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes.

"I was a secret for a long time until they discovered me then White Diamond had to convince them that I was a gem that reformed a human appearance for her taste. More like an exotic pet."

Pearl cringed. It was true though... Pearls were pretty things for show.

"Well... a change in subject... Did you talk to Jasper yet?"

Pearl shook her head.

"I don't think she'll be that angry when you let her out. This gives her a lot of time to think."

"How could you heal Jasper?" Pearl asked, "Steven almost healed a corrupted gem once but..."

"It's all in the mind. It helps when others have experienced your pain. It seems you both miss the same person. Why don't you talk to her."

"I haven't told anyone I was her pearl."

"Maybe you could still help her out. It'll be up to you to open up and tell her."

"That would mean telling everyone."

Nephele shrugged, "It's up to you. You need to be true to yourself."

Pearl said nothing and she walked away.

 _ **I had saw it on facebook and apparently it was very true. A fellow fanfiction writer named Paladeus was found dead at a lake yesterday. They are investagating this as a murder and he was discovered by a lady walking by looking for rose rocks. The father will pass more information for everyone when he can.**_

 _ **I never read any of his work but it makes me sad someone had to die that way.**_

 _ **Sorry for the sad news everyone.**_


	7. My Pink Diamond

_**Spoiler: This chapter is based somewhat off of a Single Pale Rose. Small warning if you haven't watched the new episodes yet**_

It had been days since they returned Jasper back to the Temple. Nephele hadn't showed up since that night. Pearl had been plagued by Nephele's words and she couldn't stop thinking about them but she had been burdened for so long. Part of her wondered why Steven was so trusting of her so quickly as well and she wondered if he would feel the same way.

"Steven?"

"Yes Pearl?" he asked giving her a smile.

"I um... lost my phone inside my pearl. Can you go inside and get it for me?"

"Oh... are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I have been thinking a lot. I have been out of sorts some and I lost my phone."

Steven stared at her.

"Um, ok? I will be happy to get it for you."

"Thank you Steven."

Pearl closed her eyes and Steven disappeared into Pearl's pearl.

X

X

Pearl waited nervously at the kitchen island. Amethyst had been looking at her weirdly for a while now but she never said anything. She got up and walked around some. She was ready to lose it when she heard Steven's phone ding. She took in a deep breath and brought him back through just as Garnet walked inside the beach house.

"Pearl."

She hung her head.

"Is it true?" he asked.

"I wanted to tell you for so long..."

"Mom was Pink Diamond."

"Whhaaaattt-

"Ugh!" Garnet breathed out and she unfused throwing Ruby and Sapphire onto the floor.

"HOW!"

"It's ok!" Ruby cried, "Don't worry! Everything will be fine-

"SHE LIED TO US! EVERYTHING SHE SAID WAS A LIE!"

Amethyst looked over at Pearl who looked hurt and destroyed.

"Pearl are you ok?" Steven asked.

Sapphire looked at Pearl again and stepped onto the warp pad, "I can't believe you."

She was gone, leaving Ruby behind for the first time in thousands of years.

X

X

"Pearl... can we talk?" Steven asked.

"If you want too."

"I'm not mad at you."

Pearl looked up and stared at the small boy before her.

"You aren't?"

"Mom asked you to stay quiet and you did it because you really care about her. I understand that."

"Thank you Steven."

"Hey um... Steven can you give us a few minutes?"

They looked up to see Amethyst standing there.

"Y-yeah."

Steven went to the screen door and looked back at them. Amethyst gave him a smile and waved. He opened the door and went outside. The two of them sat on the couch for a little while. It seemed to make Pearl more nervous because Amethyst was hardly ever quiet.

"Hey, P..."

"Hello Amethyst."

"I'm sorry."

Pearl looked confused, "Why are you sorry?"

"It has to be hard... To keep that to yourself. I always thought you were jealous of Greg for no reason or that you were upset that you weren't getting any attention. I see now why you acted the way you did. Did you love her a lot?"

Pearl nodded, "Not even as her pearl but because I wanted her to be happy."

"I think she would be happy."

"You really think so?"

Amethyst nodded, "I do. Steven told me some of what you showed him. I can tell you really cared about her."

"I still do. I stick by Steven because I want her to know even though I didn't support her choice but because I love him because he is part of her. Steven is his own person and I see that. He is just like her, he's so caring. I hope she can see that."

X

X

It was the middle of the night. Sapphire hadn't returned. Ruby was out by the shore and Amethyst was in her room. Pearl walked up to the Temple door and it opened to her room. She stepped in and stared around.

 _It's so strange... Everything had fallen apart because of that human appearing. Yet I feel so much better than I have in years._

Pearl made her way to Garnet's room. Even with them separated, the room still existed thanks to her being fused constantly. She entered Garnet's room and looked around seeing the white bubble with Jasper's gem inside. She couldn't believe she was going to take the advice of someone she didn't even know.

She grabbed the bubble and headed out of the Temple into the house. She looked around and sat on the couch. She stared at the small bubble in her hands. She closed her eyes and popped it. After a few minutes, her gem began to glow.

Soon Jasper reformed and she landed on the floor with a look of bewilderment on her face. She stared at Pearl like she was confused as to why she was there. She looked around the house seeing that she had no idea where she was at. Pearl's body glowed brightly.

After it faded away, she was in her dress that she wore when she served as Pink Diamond's Pearl. Jasper couldn't even bring herself to talk as they stared at each other, Jasper knew what Pearl looked liked but many pearls almost had the same appearance. Pearl stood up first to break the silence.

"Jasper."

"It's you. This whole time."

"Yes."

Pearl knelt down and helped her up.

"I know you love your Diamond but she was never really gone."

"What do you mean? I saw-

"What you saw was an illusion. Our Diamond wanted out. She wanted to protect this planet. You and I both know she was nothing like the other three."

"Where is she?" Jasper whispered.

"She gave up herself to have a child because she fell in love with a human being."

"What?"

"Our Diamond did things that aren't understood by others and she did for herself which might make her look selfish but she wanted to be free. She gave up her Diamond form to become a rose quartz."

Pearl looked up at the painting of Rose.

"That's impossible-

"It's not."

Jasper stared down at the ground.

"It was a lot easier telling you than I thought."

"Eritque Arcus told me that Pink Diamond wasn't someone I knew at all."

"I can tell you all about her if you want to listen."

X

X

Steven woke up the next morning to Amethyst and Ruby staring at the couch. He walked down the stairs to see what they were staring at. Pearl and Jasper were passed out on the couch together. Steven looked back at them opening and closing his mouth but no words came out. He looked at Ruby who had an unreadable look on her face and Amethyst seemed rather amused than anything.

The three of them walked outside and stood on the front porch with weird looks on their faces. They stood there without saying a word for about ten minutes because no one could summon any words to say about what they just saw. Steven raised his hand and opened his mouth but he was interrupted.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Peridot can running out of the house and slammed into the railing.

"Peridot what's wrong?!" Steven asked seeing the panicked look on her face.

"J-a-jasper!"

"We know."

"Why is she cuddling with Pearl?!" Peridot screamed.

Heavy footsteps came closer to the door and the screen door opened up slowly. Jasper stared down at Peridot with a weird look.

"Why are you screaming?" Jasper asked.

"Because of you! How did you get back?"

Jasper looked over at Steven and knelt down before him.

"I'm sorry my Diamond. I had no right to question the peridot."

Steven's face turned bright red, "Jasper you don't have to call me that. Just call me Steven."

Pearl came out next to see Jasper kneeling before Steven.

"What is going on?" Peridot asked, "Why is she referring to you as a Diamond?"

Pearl looked away. She still couldn't say anything even if everyone knew.

"Mom was Pink Diamond, no Rose Quartz," Steven said feeling embarrassed.

Peridot stared at Steven then at Jasper.

"You... you're kidding me?! She was a Diamond! How could she... Why would she...?"

"She loved Earth so much that she was willing to take a new identity to protect it."

Peridot sat down on the ground and looked over at Ruby.

"Why are you separated?"

"Sapphire is upset. I was actually going to go look for her but I was surprised by Jasper's presence here."

"I see."

Peridot looked back at Jasper, "Lapis isn't here anymore."

Jasper looked at Steven.

"I know fusion is against Homeworld but-

Steven smiled and shook his head, "Jasper, it's Earth. You can be with whoever you want. You can fuse with whoever you want."

She nodded quietly.

"I guess we can go find Sapphire now?"

They all nodded in agreement.

 _ **I didn't want to go through the whole episode of a Single Pale Rose. Not that I am lazy, I know everyone probably watched it more than a few times and they more than likely didn't want to read it.**_


	8. Curiosity

They spent the good part of the morning hunting for Sapphire. It seemed to have gotten colder in the woods nearby Beach City so they traveled there. Ruby looked conflicted but she couldn't wait to see her other half again. She loved her very much and she didn't want her angry anymore.

It was a little while before they heard Sapphire's singing. Steven couldn't help but smile thinking of the time when he found out Garnet was a fusion. He looked at his friends thinking how far they all had come since everything started happening. The only thing splitting them apart now was the fact his mother... was Pink Diamond.

"Sapphire!" Ruby called and the singing stopped.

"Everyone is here to talk! Let's talk about this!" Steven called.

They could see some of the trees were covered in ice and frost. It looked really beautiful but it meant Sapphire was upset. She was sitting by some bushes and flowers staring at the tops of the trees. Ruby went over and sat by her. She wasn't mad about her reaction because it was something no one had expected.

"I'm sorry."

Sapphire looked at Ruby, "You have nothing to be angry for. No one saw this."

She looked up at Steven then at Pearl.

"It was her last order to me as a Diamond. I loved her so much I would've never told anyone."

Sapphire smiled sadly, "I guess we really never forget what our roles were on Homeworld do we?"

Pearl shook her head and knelt down before her.

"I am sorry. I wanted to tell everyone but I just couldn't."

Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other then at Pearl.

"We fused with a Diamond but it never felt that way. I never saw that," the small blue gem said softly.

"Rose was never the type to flaunt her power."

"Hey... This is a big deal for all for all us. You don't have to be alone," Amethyst said.

"How do you feel?" Sapphire asked looking at Jasper.

"Lost."

"Me too."

X

X

They returned home after a little while. Everyone was still pretty quiet and they had decided against fusing into Garnet until they got their feels calmed down. Steven wasn't sure how to process everything. He had no idea how to deal with knowing he was Pink Diamond. Pearl still felt like she had betrayed her Diamond's trust somehow but Steven reminded her she didn't.

"Where is Eritque Arcus?"

"I don't know."

Jasper looked out the window staring down at the ocean.

"You want to talk to her don't you?" Pearl asked.

"I want to know more. I know how all of you feel about being here but I don't belong here. Not without Lapis anyways."

Pearl sat down to face her.

"I know what you feel. I abused my ability to fuse with Garnet. That power... It is amazingly addictive."

The quartz soldier arched an eyebrow at her, "She's that strong?"

Pearl nodded.

"Hmmm."

"Nephele herself is something else."

"Who?"

"Eritque Arcus. Her human name is Nephele."

"Human name?"

"She's part human."

She made a face at Pearl but stayed quiet.

X

X

"What's wrong Peridot?" Steven asked sitting on the floor by her chair.

"I'm trying to come up with a way to figure out that human hybrid fixed Jasper. None of it makes any sense."

"Why don't we just ask her?"

"That would never work, she may not tell us anything."

Steven smiled and munched on his chaaps.

"I never even seen a gem placement on her. I can't understand how she lived so long."

"Or we could just ask her."

Peridot turned in her chair and stared at him.

"Fine, let's do it your way."

They exited the Temple and headed for outside. They went all over town calling her name and even went to the far off beaches where they saw her last but she wasn't there. Peridot was getting extremely annoyed she hadn't showed up yet. There was no way she managed to get off the planet Earth unless she grew wings.

"I told you asking her wouldn't work."

"Ask me what?"

Steven and Peridot jumped. Nephele was sitting on top of a streetlight in the hoodie and jeans with her hat.

"You wanna hang out at the house with us? Jasper is awake."

"Oh, you let her out?"

"Pearl did," Steven said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Nephele jumped down and bowed before Steven.

"Good evening my Diamond."

Steven turned pink.

"How did you know all about that?" Peridot asked, "You weren't there when we all found out."

"I knew."

Peridot made a face but Nephele raised her hand.

"I can go back to your house and tell you about one of the times we talked about Earth. Pink Diamond was quite unique."

X

X

The Crystal Gems sat on the couch. Jasper sat on the floor with Peridot beside of her and Nephele sitting on a regular chair. She had taken off all of her human clothes revealing the pearl-like outfit underneath once again. Her eyes locked with Jasper's but Jasper looked away blushing.

"So... A long time ago..."

 _Nephele and White Diamond sat in her room without speaking a word. They had too many visitors lately to feel comfortable enough to talk about anything. Many gems questioned the bed and cushioned chair in her room, but no one ever said it to White Diamond's face. White Diamond looked up when her screen beeped._

" _It's Yellow Diamond."_

" _Answer it then," Nephele said hopping off her bed._

 _Whenever one of the Diamonds called she moved out of sight._

" _Yes, Yellow?"_

" _We have some preparations to make. Can you come meet us here? We are discussing new colonies."_

 _White Diamond stared at her._

" _I told you I didn't care what you did."_

 _Yellow Diamond's business like face switched over to a look of aggravation._

" _Quit playing with your weird pearl and come to this meeting. Some of the kindergartners have found some problems."_

 _White Diamond made a face, "In that case I'll be right there."_

 _The white screen disappeared._

" _I'll be back."_

 _White Diamond stood up and headed for the door._

" _You promise to lay with me while I sleep when you do?" Nephele asked._

 _White Diamond smiled and nodded. The metal door shut behind her._

 _Nephele went through multiple screens of planets and their moons. What gems would grow best and such. She didn't have much to do with White Diamond being gone but she didn't mind her human partner messing with her stuff. Nephele was almost done with the Andromeda system when she felt a hand on her shoulder._

" _What the hell-_

 _She looked behind her to see Pink Diamond standing there._

" _How come you can play on those screens?" she asked but she was only teasing her._

 _White Diamond had said Pink Diamond was a strange one but she said she was basically harmless._

" _I'm bored."_

 _Pink Diamond spun the chair around for Nephele to face her._

" _I take it you're Pink huh?"_

" _Don't you mean 'Pink Diamond.'"_

" _No. It's how I just said it. You don't seem the authority type."_

 _She smiled, "I'm not."_

" _You wanna share the chair? The both of us can fit here if you want."_

 _Nephele scooted over and Pink Diamond sat beside of her._

" _You know how to use this?"_

 _Pink Diamond shook her head, "I haven't got my own planet yet but Yellow Diamond was talking about giving me Earth."_

 _Nephele raised an eyebrow, "I'm from Earth."_

" _Really?!"_

" _You want to look at it up close? I do when I get a little homesick."_

" _Ok!"_

 _They sat together for the longest time trying to look everything up about Earth. It seemed Pink Diamond had no problem with the fact Nephele wasn't anything like a gem or Diamond at all. Hours passed by before White Diamond returned staring down at the two in her chair with a curious look. Neither one of them heard her come in until she cleared her throat._

" _Why are you in here?" White Diamond asked staring down at the much smaller Diamond._

" _I was bored... I um... getting tips on my new planet."_

 _Nephele's face turned bright pink and she was trying to avoid eye contact with White Diamond._

" _I don't mind but you have to keep your mouth shut."_

 _The two of them nodded._

" _If Yellow or Blue call, you must get out of sight too. I don't want them knowing you were snooping through my things."_

" _Yellow Diamond is mean anyways," Pink Diamond said looking aggravated._

 _White Diamond picked them both up and placed them on Nephele's bed._

" _Maybe so, but she means well. Remember to keep your mouth shut."_

 _Pink Diamond nodded._

" _Everyone has secrets... Remember that."_

 _Pink Diamond and Nephele gave her a strange look but they said nothing._

" _Well, I better go! I can go see Blue Diamond for a while!"_

 _Pink Diamond walked out of the room._

" _She's... um nice."_

 _White Diamond looked back at her but only gave her a smile._


	9. What Are You?

"Thank you," Steven said as he joined Nephele at the table.

Amethyst had ordered a few pizzas and she had decided to indulge.

"For what?"

"Telling me about Mom. I never got to meet her but everyone has so much to say about her."

She smiled, "I have a few other stories. I know you might want to know but you probably need time to process everything. I know your head is swimming with a million thoughts."

"It is."

"Pizza?" she asked grabbing a box and handing it to him.

"Thank you."

"I'm glad you are here though."

He looked up at her.

"You are?"

Nephele nodded, "I get lonely being a human being."

"I understand that."

"What's it like?"

"What was what like?" Nephele asked.

"Being alive all this time?"

She made a face.

"You want the truth or do you want me to sugar coat it?" she asked in seriousness.

"Um... The truth."

She put her pizza down.

"Painful."

Steven gave her a sad look.

"I know that was probably not the answer you wanted but it is the truth."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Steven," she said chuckling, "Things happen."

"Then why are you in so much pain? Did someone do it?"

Nephele sat there uncomfortable.

"Yes. But then after a while they became the reason why I wanted to live. It's hard to explain..."

"Oh."

Steven became quiet.

"I guess it's something I can't talk about much."

"I understand."

She smiled.

"What kind of powers do you have?" she asked.

"I can summon a bubble and my shield. I can fuse with Amethyst and my best friend Connie."

"You can fuse with another human?"

Steven nodded, "Oh yea! I have healing spit!"

Nephele started laughing.

"You're quite interesting."

Steven smiled brightly and ate another sliced pizza.

"Hello you two. Are you enjoying your pizza?" Pearl asked.

They both nodded.

"You have to eat like Steven?" Pearl asked curiously.

"Actually no. A lot of my basic body functions ceased. I don't understand it myself but I don't even have to breathe either."

"That's so cool!"

Nephele smiled and picked up another slice trying to hand it to Pearl.

"Oh no. I'm not like Amethyst! I don't eat."

"Oh ok. It's not for everyone."

They sat there talking for a while and Jasper continued to spy on them. She didn't want to reveal herself because she already showed her vulnerable side in front of Pearl and her Diamond now named Steven. She didn't quite understand everything going on and she felt more like Nephele was the key to everything. The key to getting back to Homeworld.

Steven went to bed first then Pearl disappeared into the Temple leaving her by herself. Nephele disposed of the empty pizza boxes and headed for the screen door. A small smile appeared across her face.

"Jasper, if you want to talk, we can."

"I don't want to talk to you. I'm just watching."

"Suit yourself."

X

X

" _I don't want to leave."_

" _Nephele, you already agreed to this."_

 _She looked at White Diamond with tears streaking her face._

" _Please don't do this to me. This is already hard enough."_

" _What is going on?"_

 _White Diamond turned around to see Pink Diamond standing there with her sword on her side._

" _Nothing, I command you to leave."_

" _What are you doing with Nephele?" she asked, "Are you sending her away?"_

 _Nephele said nothing. She refused to make eye contact with Pink Diamond._

" _She isn't safe here anymore."_

" _Why not?"_

 _White Diamond grabbed Pink Diamond's wrist and jerked her closer, "Because of that Rose Quartz. Yellow Diamond is already becoming suspicious of everyone and everything lately. I know you know the truth about Nephele's origins and now she is in danger. I can't have her here. There's a lot about her you don't know about and it will cause more problems."_

" _I'm sorry-_

" _I don't want to hear it."_

 _Pink's eyes widened once she realized White was in a lot of pain. Her eyes had watered up some and her voice was cracking a little but she held it together._

" _Nephele-_

 _White Diamond rolled her eyes and left the room for a moment._

" _I didn't mean all this to happen..."_

" _I know," Nephele whispered, "Don't bother finding me on Earth."_

" _What-_

" _I wouldn't be able to keep your secret."_

" _I-_

 _She held a finger to her lips._

" _Pink... This is goodbye."_

 _White Diamond returned and pushed Pink Diamond out of the loading dock._

" _Are you ready?" she whispered._

" _No. What am I supposed to do without you?"_

 _White Diamond knelt down, "Live your life. Fall in love. Do what you were made for."_

 _Nephele wiped her face off, "What do I do when you made me just for you?"_

 _X_

 _X_

Nephele woke up and wiped her face.

 _I fell asleep outside... How odd._

"Are you ok?"

She looked to her left to see Jasper and Peridot sitting there.

"You were tossing and turning, so Jasper was concerned about you."

Jasper's cheeks were flaming bright red but she nodded staring at the ocean.

"Thank you."

She sat up and looked upward. It was still night time.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Four in the morning," Peridot answered.

 _Of course it is._

"Can I ask you something?"

Nephele nodded and offered the smaller gem a smile.

"Anything."

"Your room... Why was it clocks?"

"Because... Each clock represented an era I liked in here on Earth. White Diamond had me two hundred years before the Gem War. Human existed but they didn't look like apes much anymore. I was part of a newer generation that came from where Greece is. I altered my appearance some over time. Older humans were taller and more aggressive."

"Interesting."

"It is actually."

"Are you a gem hybrid like Steven?"

Nephele arched an eyebrow, "Curious much?"

"You don't seem anything like Steven."

"Not all gems are the same either."

"Are you?" Jasper asked.

Nephele smiled, "I wasn't made like Steven. I was made a more... different way."

"You can't say?"

"I can... It's painful to talk about. Let's just say... I was an experiment."


	10. A Talk

The next few weeks Jasper tried her best to get adjusted to her new home. The only thing she couldn't get use to was the weird human hybrid, Nephele. She constantly stared at her when she wasn't looking trying to figure out what or who she was. Even though Steven had explained she had belonged to White Diamond, she didn't quite get it.

Nephele talked about being on a ship with White Diamond and traveling through space while Pearl and Steven listened to her. Jasper wondered why a Diamond of all the gems would have a need for an immortal human being. The other thing that was unusual was the fusion called Garnet had remained separated for a while and they had not tried fusing back. Everyone seemed under stress.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jasper jumped. She had been sitting by the washer and dryer listening to it. It sounded soothing.

"Waiting for... laundry?"

Nephele smiled and sat down beside of her.

"So... you like staring at people huh?"

Jasper's face turned bright red.

"This planet is strange."

Nephele laughed.

"You know... I would have to agree with you on some of it. I watched the way everything changed here and it was... Interesting. Even though I missed Earth... I was ready to go to White Diamond."

The quartz soldier nodded in agreement.

"How do you feel about your Diamond being alive?"

"I don't understand why she did everything she did. My feelings are mixed."

"Pearl seemed to understand you."

"Yes. I can imagine it being harder for her."

Jasper turned to her to say something but Steven warped up to check the washer and dryer. She bit her lip and looked away. Nephele smiled and waited patiently until Steven decided to sit between them. Jasper became flustered and gripped her knees tightly like she was trying to control herself.

"My-... um... Steven?"

Steven looked up at the giant quartz who's face was a dark red color.

"Yes?"

"Can um... you go. I am talking to Eritque Arcus."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Steven said getting up.

"It's ok Steven. You didn't know."

Steven warped back to the beach house.

X

It took Jasper another hour before she managed to get the courage to say something. Nephele waited patiently while she struggled to get out what she wanted. For a short while she babbled on about meaningless things until Nephele put a finger on her lips making her quiet.

"Calm down. I am not upset or anything. Ask what you want."

"Can you... Can you help me with something?"

"Sure, anything you need."

Soon they were on the porch looking in at Pearl. Jasper's sudden confession to liking the thin gem surprised her. Amethyst had mentioned that and quoted, "She was thirsty for Rose." Nephele didn't say anything to Jasper because she didn't want to discourage her. They watched for a little while until Sapphire and Ruby caught them.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"Looking at Pearl."

Jasper stared at them.

"Can't you two fuse already? It makes me feel pathetic when I look at you."

Nephele looked mildly surprised like Ruby. From what Steven had told her, she didn't like fusion until she had gotten stuck with Lapis for months underwater. The way he made it sound was that Jasper thirsted for power and apparently Lapis was full of it. She wondered if Jasper knew Pearl wasn't a powerhouse like the ocean gem flying through space.

"We aren't ready yet."

Jasper rolled her eyes, "All because your leader was actually Pink Diamond? It's a lot to take in but you don't see anyone else making a big deal about it. Beside, Steven misses Garnet. You're hurting my Diamond with your pettiness."

Sapphire and Ruby looked at each. It was true though.

"You don't understand-

"Peridot explained everything to me. I watched all of Camp Pining Hearts. Pierre and Percy belong together."

Sapphire blushed.

"I will if you want too," Ruby said with a smile on her face.

Sapphire nodded in response and held out her hand. Ruby pulled her in for a hug and they were shrouded in white light. Nephele had never seen anyone else fuse before but it was quite interesting. Garnet looked down at them with her three eyes smiling.

"GARNET!"

Steven slammed the screen door and jumped into her arms.

"I missed you!"

Jasper smiled and looked away from the scene. She didn't want to be caught staring.

"I have so much to tell you!" he cried as she carried him into the house.

"So how do you want to tell her?"

"I don't know. How do you go around confessing to someone?"

Nephele shrugged, "For me it kind of just happened."

"How does something just happen?!" I don't understand how this works!"

"Do you know how to dance?" Nephele asked.

"I'm not asking her to fuse with me."

Nephele made a face, "Causal dancing. Not a fusion dance."

"I don't understand. There is more than one dance?"

"I keep forgetting you haven't been on Earth that long. It takes me a little bit. Come on! I'll show you!"

X

X

"Hm? Nephele didn't show up. It is dinner time and she does enjoy eating."

"She ran off with Jasper. They were hanging out a lot today."

The screen door creaked up revealing Jasper. She looked very nervous. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a tux. It was burnt orange and black. Everyone couldn't help but stare at her because it was so strange seeing her in human clothing.

"Go!" Nephele hissed.

She pushed Jasper forward and Jasper stumbled up in front of Pearl who looked extremely confused. The quartz pulled out a small bouquet of orange and pink flowers handing them to her. Garnet held onto Amethyst as she tried to jump up and down. Steven looked confused then he realized Jasper liked Pearl.

"Um... Pearl."

"Yes?"

Jasper dropped down to one knee and held the flowers up to her.

"Will you go out with me?"

Amethyst screamed loudly in excitement. Steven covered her mouth quickly.

"Really?"

Jasper hung her head trying to hide her burning red face.

Nephele popped out and gave Pearl a thumbs up and a nod.

"I would love too."

Jasper looked up at her with a stunned look on her face.

"R-really?"

"Yes! Um, where did you want to go?"

"Well, you don't liking eating, so a dance at the beach? I have been told by Steven you dance beautifully."

Pearl's cheeks turned a light blue.

"Um, thank you. You want to leave now?"

Jasper nodded.

The two of them left together leaving everyone in the house speechless. Nephele turned around and smiled at her brand new friends.

"Can we stay up and wait for them?!" Amethyst asked, "I haven't seen Pearl like that since Rose was here."

"What made Jasper like Pearl though?" Steven asked.

"A mutual missing of someone."

Nephele sat down at the table grabbing a plate of food.

"We should eat while we wait," she said.

 _ **I had not originally intended for Jasper and Pearl end up together. The night Pearl released Jasper and they ended up falling asleep on the couch... What could be more perfect?**_


	11. Just A Notice

**-just a notice-**

 **I have some bad news. I am going to take a month off. My seven year old has contracted Typhus. I had never heard of it but it is common apparently right now in south texas. It is contracted by fleas and then they bite people. It comes with high fever (hers hit 104), headache and at some point a rash appears.**

 **I had taken in three homeless kittens and I had given them flea baths BUT it could have came from anywhere because it takes 1-2 weeks to make someone sick. She's taking Doxycycline which has risks taking it for someone her age.**

 **I'll try and work on my stuff when I can but I need time to care and worry about her first.**

 **Sorry guys,**

 **Astropurple009**


	12. Hacker

Steven and Nephele emerged from the Temple and waited for the door to close. Steven had no idea how they were going to get into Peridot's room without her. Nephele's gem legs pierced the door and the green gem lit up. He felt like he might've went too far but now he knew how she got into Garnet's room in the first place to kidnap Jasper.

The door lit up and disappeared. Peridot was at her computer and stared at the two of them dumbfounded. She didn't say anything as they walked in and Nephele got closer to her. One of the legs grabbed her around the waist and took Peridot off of her seat. Peridot started to struggle against the grip Nephele had on her but it didn't work.

"What are you doing? Steven! This is my room!"

"I'm making a call."

"A call to who?!"

"White Diamond."

"WHAT?!"

Nephele sat down and the rest of the spider legs wedged themselves into Peridot's giant keyboard. The screen went black then static showed up next. It looked like she was flipping through channels on a TV. She mad angry, annoyed noises are Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond's channels came up but nothing on White Diamond.

"I wonder if she blocked me from finding a way to contact her..."

"Why would she do that?" Steven asked looking nervous.

"I don't know... Unless she was worried I might try get a hold of her."

Nephele sat there staring at the static before she flipped back to Yellow Diamond's channel. Peridot squealed and tried to get away from her. Nephele let her go and Peridot hid behind the chair. Steven decided to hide with her just in case Yellow Diamond showed up on the screen.

 _"Yellow Diamond's direct line."_

"Give me to Yellow Diamond."

 _"Who are you and why are you calling My Diamond? This is not for prank calls-_

"Do what I said or I'll come up there and shatter you myself."

 _"Who is it Pearl?"_

 _"I am not sure. I have never seen it before in my life."_

"Eritque Arcus."

Suddenly the screen flew into a blur and Nephele was faced with Yellow Diamond.

 _"I was told you were shattered on Earth!"_

"Someone lied to you. Where is she?"

Yellow Diamond made a face.

 _"You have no right to be demanding anything from me."_

"I have every right. I want my Diamond!" Nephele yelled.

 _"Listen here you little pest-_

"I need her now!"

Yellow Diamond looked beyond furious. She glared at Nephele but it didn't bother her any.

"Get me to her or I will blow up your ship. I can do it."

They stared at each other angrily but Yellow Diamond flipped the screen. Peridot's computer split into a yellow screen and a white one. The two of them waited patiently. Steven and Peridot peeked up from behind the chair to see the Diamond looked angry. More angry than when Peridot called her a clod.

 _"This better be good Yellow because I am very busy."_

 _"Well it is you liar."_

 _"Excuse me?"_

 _"Your special 'pearl' has resurfaced."_

White Diamond's head snapped to the side to stare at Yellow Diamond. Her eyes locked with Nephele's. Everyone stayed quiet for what seemed like forever. The brave face Nephele had put on for Yellow Diamond was now fading as she stared at the love of her life. White Diamond finally broke her eyes away while biting her lip.

 _"I blocked you."_

"i noticed."

 _"Why are you contacting me now?"_

"I have Pink Diamond."

The floored and shocked looks on their faces were enough to amuse Nephele.

 _"You... you what?"_

 _"That is impossible! She was shattered!"_ Yellow Diamond screamed into the screen.

"I fixed her. Like White Diamond fixed me."

Yellow Diamond ran a hand over her face.

 _"Nephele-_

"I want to come home."

White Diamond's face softened.

"I have been without you all this time. I did as you asked but you never came back. I want you back."

 _"You're safe down there-_

"I have Pink Diamond so I can come back! I am miserable here!"

 _"You are a defective pearl and you don't belong here,"_ Yellow Diamond said.

"Shut up. No one asked you."

White Diamond hid her face but Nephele could see the amusement tugging at White Diamond's lips.

 _"Who do you think you are?! I WON'T HAVE PEARLS TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT!"_

 _"Do you really have Pink Diamond?"_ White Diamond asked ignoring Yellow Diamond's outburst.

Nephele nodded.

"It seems... she discovered a more... painless way of creating hybrids. She isn't what she was a long time ago."

White Diamond sunk in her chair with some regret on her face.

"I'm not mentioning it to guilt you. I want you to see what she created."

 _"Created?"_

Nephele nodded.

"Yes. Created from love."

 _"Love doesn't create living beings."_

"They do on this planet. You never stuck around long enough to learn anything about it."

 _"I will admit to that."_

"Will you come?"

 _"I should just blow up your whole planet!"_

Nephele rolled her eyes, "I think… I think it's time for the truth."

 _"I fear it is too. I was never looking forward to this part…"_

White Diamond smiled sheepishly at Nephele.

"Maybe you can look forward to seeing me again as the result of the truth then."

 _"I will. I missed you."_

She smiled as tears stung her eyes, "I missed you too."

X

X

"I can't believe this! We trusted you!"

Nephele sat on the couch while Pearl yelled at her. Everyone else stayed quiet but they were all thinking the same thing.

"If Steven thought it was ok... then I think it was ok," Jasper said.

Pearl whirled around to stare at her orange girlfriend.

"You have nothing to fear anyways. Yellow and Blue can show up but they won't lay a finger on you."

"You can't guarantee that! Don't say things that aren't true!"

"I can because I'm more than a human. I know all of you know that by now. White Diamond created me to destroy Diamonds."

"Only a Diamond can destroy another Diamond!" Pearl yelled.

"I know."

Jasper looked at Steven then at Pearl.

"You know... Then that... Would make you a Diamond?" Jasper asked.

Nephele nodded.

"How?"

Sorrow overcame her face.

"A lot of stuff happened to me a long time ago. Things only White Diamond and myself know about. I don't like talking about it."

"Things… she did to you? Or she saved you?" Garnet asked.

Nephele made a face avoiding Steven's eyes.

"Things she did to me."

 _ **Sorry for the absence from the story. It is about 3/4 finished already. I'll update soon!**_


	13. Horrific Truth

**_This is a triggering chapter. It will be… more along the lines of torture. I figure now is the time to introduce it. This is how Nephele became Nephele_** ** _._**

 _It was hard for her to remember her real name after being abducted. She only gained her new name after everything had happened. She was given the name by a large woman in white. Her lips were black as night and her eyes were a haunting white color._

 _She crawled in the room and she felt something wet, warm and sticky on her hands. There was no light in the room she was in but it smelled almost like something metal… metallic almost. It was hard to say what it could be. She only saw a large white head coming towards them and that tall giant woman coming out of it._

 _She called out._

 _Silence._

 _She was dragged from her family. She was somewhere and she couldn't see. Her heart was pounding so hard it might burst through her chest at any moment…. She called out over and over until she broke down into sobs and screams. She was so scared._

 _Would she make it out of this?_

 _She had no idea how long she was in there but she felt like it was days. She was hungry and so tired regardless of how much sleep she had gotten. She couldn't tell whether it was day or night or what season it was. She was just there…. Existing in nothingness._

 _Once she started to give up with hunger and thirst gnawing at her body and mind she tried sleeping more. It was making her insane. She couldn't last much longer. It was driving her mad she might actually hurt herself. She needed out._

 _She was at death's door when light flooded into the dark room. Only her eyes moved. She could see dead bodies in the room around her and dried blood on the floor. She closed her eyes thinking she was just dying but she felt something grab her body and lift her up into the air. She was so weak she had no way of fighting against it._

 _The light was so bright it hurt her eyes. She just wanted to die already. Why couldn't she just die and end everything? The misery was too great for her and she needed to sleep. To sleep away the pain she felt. She needed the cold embrace of death._

 _X_

 _X_

 _She woke laying on a table face down. She heard voices and some weird language she wasn't familiar with. She tried to move but she was shackled down. She looked to her sides to see dead humans on metal tables. Her eyes widened realizing what was going on, she tried to struggle._

 _She wanted back in her old room in the nothingness._

 ** _"It seems all the other subjects died within seconds of being opened up or minutes within gem injection."_**

 ** _"Keep trying… I have to find some use for these organic creatures."_**

 ** _"Yes, My Diamond."_**

 ** _"Who is left?"_**

 ** _"Subject X and Subject XX."_**

 _She felt someone behind her._

 ** _"This is subject XX. She lasted the longest without anything to feed on. The others had perished."_**

 ** _"XX."_**

 _She didn't move._

 ** _"XX?"_**

 _"I… I don't know," she answered._

 ** _"She is alive then huh? I'm surprised. I guess this will be the last round of subjects. For the next few hundred years until we make our way back. Get XX ready."_**

 ** _"Yes, My Diamond."_**

 ** _"I want information every step of the way. I have a feeling she is going to be special."_**

 ** _"As you wish."_**

 ** _"I can't wait to see you again, XX. Do not die on me."_**

 ** _X_**

 ** _X_**

 _Within a few more hours, she felt something prick her skin. A weird cool feeling overcame her body making her shiver. She felt something weird against her back before the searing pain overcame her. She screamed so loud the sharp thing cutting her skin had disappeared._

 ** _"Someone shut her up!"_**

 ** _"Subject XX! You must be quiet!"_**

 _She didn't understand anything and she was in so much pain she might actually vomit. They finally placed something over her mouth to muffle her screams but it didn't work._

 ** _"Someone hit her in the head! I can't do this with all the screaming!"_**

 ** _"On it!"_**

 _She felt something hit her in the head but it only made her dizzy. She felt some weird pressure in her back that overwhelmed the flayed skin. She felt something even colder than the weird fluid that was injected into her body but then it started to heat like boiling water and she broke the shackles screaming bloody murder._

 _She blacked out and collapsed onto the floor in a bloody heap._

 _X_

 _X_

 ** _"Hm… And she is still alive?"_**

 ** _"Yes, My Diamond. She hasn't spoken once since then though… We found a way to 'feed' her body to keep it alive. It seems the gemification process is slow on her."_**

 ** _"I knew XX was special. Maybe it her way of staying alive?"_**

 _X_

 _X_

 _For months on end she had to endure the same process over and over three times in the twenty four days. The big white person refused to give up on her. She had no idea what was going on to her body but she no longer needed to do the same things a human being needed to do to live and function. She hated the feeling._

 _X_

 _X_

 ** _"She is quite beautiful for an organic creature… I want to keep her."_**

 ** _"Yes, I agree My Diamond. Should we inform the other Diamonds-_**

 ** _"NEVER! This is top secret. If it comes down to it I can use the rest of those beings on that crappy planet."_**

 _X_

 _X_

 _It seemed XX had learned to understand their language some more just from listening but she never spoke a word with anyone around._

 ** _"She seems to have no ability to talk around. It's been five hundred sixty four Earth days since we had her. Perhaps the process took away her ability to speak?"_**

 ** _"Everyone learn the room."_**

 _All the weird looking people left the room. It was just XX and the tall white woman._

 ** _"Can you speak?"_**

 _XX looked up at her with an expressionless face._

 ** _"At least you can still hear. I don't mind talking to my new pet."_**

 _XX blinked._

 ** _"You are on the way of immortality. Or just a longer life cycle. You are the first one to make it through this."_**

 _The woman touched her warm skin with a large hand._

 ** _"Maybe I should become your size? Would it make you feel more comfortable?"_**

 _The woman shrunk down._

 ** _"Is this better?"_**

 _XX looked mildly surprised. She nodded._

 ** _"So… You have learned some of our language?"_**

 _XX nodded._

 ** _"I am not surprised. You seem to be intelligent. Stronger even."_**

 _XX frowned._

 ** _"I am White Diamond. I'm the highest Diamond there is in the universe. You will be my new … pet almost like a Pearl. They usually just look pretty and open doors. I want you as more of a prize. I have you for a special reason. Would you like to know why?"_**

 _XX nodded._

 ** _"If there ever comes a day of war or a lower Diamond out of order I would like you to be by my side and take her out. I will not allow someone else to overthrow me. I need you to live through all this because I need you. I can rename you if you would like. You never said your name."_**

 _XX nodded._

 ** _"Did you have anything in mind?"_**

 _XX nodded then smiled._

 _"Nephele."_

 ** _"Nephele… I like the name."_**

 ** _I know it seems horrible and out there but I never expected all of the Diamonds to be so nice like Pink Diamond. I'm pretty they had down stuff to all kinds of creatures but of course Steven Universe is more kid friendly than anything (kind of) lol_**


	14. Unsettling

Nephele sat outside by the lapping waves. No one had talked to her after she told them what really happened. The look on their faces were the same... they were horrified. She didn't blame them. She had been keeping it to herself all these years.

The only thing was... She saw why White Diamond had done that to her. It wasn't like the Diamond was a sadistic creature. Nephele wasn't going to open about everything and what her full purpose was... She had more problems to worry about than what the Crystal Gems had thought.

 _I'm already falling apart. She never needed to overthrow anyone. I almost feel like my creation was a waste of time._

"Was everything you said... Well, was it really true?"

Nephele turned slightly to see Pearl and Garnet standing there.

"Yes."

"Then how can you be ok with her?" Pearl asked, "She tortured you."

She said nothing.

"That isn't love."

Nephele stood up and faced them.

"You act like I'm not fully aware of that."

"Then why-

"Because it was all I knew. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond kept their relationships with their pearls strictly business like... Pink Diamond was nothing like that. She was a complete three sixty of those two and even White is one of a kind. I had heard all about you and Rose. You and Pink Diamond. Where are you to judge when she never loved you back?"

Pearl said nothing.

"She wasn't the creature everyone thought she was. She rules over planets and does things that require her to be that way. I saw the other side. She created me for a reason. You know... I think that she loved me because she created me and was there every step of my way."

Garnet placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"It was the only love I ever got. Even though you are not technically alive like a biological being... You feel that need too."

X

X

The next few days everyone stayed away from her. Steven didn't go near her because he didn't even know what to say.

Steven peeked out the window seeing that Nephele was no where in sight. He looked around the living room seeing he was alone. Jasper and Pearl had gone into town to grocery shop for him and Garnet was in her room. Peridot and Amethyst were in her room watching TV. He walked over to the screen door and pushed it open.

The warm breeze hit his face and pushed on the screen door a little bit. The sky looked funny but that wasn't what he was paying attention too. He could see a small fire in the distance. Hardly anyone would build a campfire during the day especially in warm weather.

A weird humming noise ripped through the air in a wave almost knocking him down the stairs. He saw the fire was gone now made him think some people heard the noise and put the fire out. Steven looked upward to see a yellow arm and a blue arm. They landed by the water and it sat there like it was waiting.

No one came running out to see what was going on. He was scared and didn't want to be alone.

A finger opened up and landed in the sand and a door opened up on both ships. Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond came out of the ship. The color drained from Steven's face as they came closer to the house. They were as big as he could remember.

"Where is she?!" Yellow Diamond screamed.

 _Where is White Diamond? I thought she was coming here first!_

Yellow Diamond reached out to grab at Steven but Nephele flew out in front of him. She slammed into the giant yellow hand knocking the Diamond backwards.

"How dare you! Insolent creature!"

"Leave him alone! If you're here for me, then come after me!"

"I will crush you and that sassy attitude of yours!"

Steven clung to Nephele's arm.

"You can't fight them!"

She looked back at him.

"I don't want them to hurt you."

Steven looked shocked.

"I know you aren't really her... but you were my best friend... This may be my last chance to say something if things don't go the way they need too but... Pink Diamond. I love you. You and White Diamond made my time in space worth the pain I suffered worth it all. I know the whole thing was some selfishness on your part but I don't blame you."

Tears welled up from Steven's eyes and dropped down his cheeks. She turned back with an aching heart.

 _White Diamond should've came along with them unless they left before her._

"I hope we can talk this out because this will not end well for you," she said, "Where is she?"

"We left without her," Blue Diamond said, "Where is Pink?"

Nephele looked behind her at Steven again.

"She's right here."

Steven stepped out from behind her and stared at them.

"What is this?! YOU BROUGHT US DOWN HERE ON A LIE?!" Yellow Diamond yelled.

"I said she wasn't the same as she was. Did you think I was lying?"

"STEVEN!"

The rest of the Crystal Gems came. Jasper peeked out the window with Peridot. Neither one of them were sure if they wanted to come outside.

"You want fight? Then let's fight. I won't let you destroy this place."

"We won't either!" Pearl yelled.

"This is our home! You are not welcome here!" Garnet yelled.

"We'll show you exactly what we are made of!"

"That is rather unnecessary."

Everyone stopped for just a second to see the tall white being walking towards them.

"i was almost afraid I was late to the party," White Diamond said with a big smile.

Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond looked rather creeped out.

"Where is Pink at? I miss her being around. She always lit up the room."

Steven waved, "H-hi."

White Diamond held out a hand and Steven stepped onto her hand.

"My... You have changed a lot."

White Diamond looked onto the porch to see Nephele there.

"It's been a long time."

Nephele said nothing. White Diamond put Steven down.

"Come here."

She held out her large white hand.


	15. Unspoken Feelings

The two of them stared at each other. Steven was becoming anxious just from standing there.

"Have you changed your mind?" White Diamond asked.

Nephele shook her head.

"Come down here and face me."

Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond gave their leader a weird. No one talked to her like that and now someone so small and unimportant was demanding something from her.

"Alright, I understand."

White Diamond's body lit up brighter and she shrunk down to size. She walked up the steps onto the porch to face Nephele. Her eyes showed so many emotions it was hard to tell which one she felt the strongest. White Diamond looked equally conflicted as her. The Crystal Gems backed up some away from them.

"Is this ok?" she asked.

Nephele nodded.

"Sunshine, you can look at me."

Nephele shook her head.

"Is something wrong?"

"Everything! You never came and I'm falling apart."

"I swear I wanted to come back. I really did but I couldn't-

"Because you were more worried about yourself than me!" she yelled.

"I did lose track of time. I just thought I had more time."

Nephele shook her head.

"I'm running out of it."

"What is she talking about? Gems live forever," Blue Diamond said looking at them.

"It's because she not a full gem. I forced gem parts inside of her. I created the first hybrid to exist."

"You created this abomination and kept it secret?" Yellow Diamond asked.

"What I do is my business and it would be best if you didn't question that," White Diamond snapped.

No one said anything.

"That much time couldn't have passed."

"I've been around before Pink Diamond disappeared."

White Diamond looked over at Steven.

"I always had a feeling that she was still around. You two were always together whenever she crept around in places she shouldn't have been."

Nephele smiled at Steven.

"I told you."

"What was the purpose of creating something that would fall apart?" Blue Diamond asked, "She looks fine to me."

White Diamond placed a cheek on Nephele's face.

"She was created to destroy Diamonds. I had it planned with the power from her gems were exhausted that I would replace them with better source," White Diamond said turning around, "I knew she was flawed but she was perfect. It would be the time I would have her destroy one of you and take the shards to redesign her."

Yellow Diamond looked appalled.

"I made Pink Diamond from a failed creation... but she was perfect when she came out. No matter how small. I wanted to give broken shards a second chance. It seems the purpose I created her went through her to create her rebellion as Rose Quartz. I had created Nephele to serve a special purpose and then I threw her away."

"You were going to fix me?" she asked surprised.

"I never told you everything. You were so special to me. If I had kept you with me... I had some run ins with other creatures it might've broke you faster and I couldn't take that chance. In order for me to completely fix you, you would have to break."

"I... how could you not tell me?"

"How could I? After the horror I put you through?"

"Did anyone else know?"

White Diamond looked over at Steven.

X

X

" _Nephele!"_

 _White Diamond didn't even hear Pink Diamond come into her room even with her excited voice filling the air._

" _White! White! Where is Nephe..."_

 _Pink Diamond looked down to see White Diamond writing on paper. It looked like charts and notes._

" _What are you doing?"_

 _White Diamond jumped and covered up her paperwork._

" _None of your business."_

" _Are you drawing pictures of Nephele? Why?"_

" _Don't you have something better to do?" White Diamond asked rather annoyed._

" _No. You haven't given me a planet yet."_

" _I actually have one for you. I think you'll like it."_

" _Really?" she asked excitedly._

" _It is Nephele's home."_

" _Earth? "_

 _White Diamond nodded._

" _Won't... that destroy it?"_

 _White Diamond ruffled Pink Diamond's hair, "You don't have too if you don't want too. It is your planet. Do what you want."_

" _Really?!"_

 _White Diamond nodded._

" _White... are you worried?"_

" _Hm? About?"_

" _Her. I know she isn't a full gem. She told me of her origins. Is what she said true?"_

 _White Diamond's face softened and she looked away._

" _It's all true. I am trying to fix things though. That one day she will be ok. What do you think?"_

" _That's a great idea! Where is she though?"_

" _She's with some peridots. She's supervising their work while I work on this."_

" _Oh."_

" _You have to keep this quiet ok? She most never know. If you do... You can't come see her anymore."_

" _I'll be quiet! See you later!"_

 _Pink Diamond went by the door._

" _Oh, Yellow was complaining earlier and was talking about coming by."_

 _White Diamond groaned._

" _Thank you."_

" _You're welcome! Bye White!"_

" _Bye."_

 _X_

 _X_

"She never spoke of it but from the looks of her... she isn't what she used to be. Her memories are probably suppressed."

"Could I heal Nephele?" Steven asked.

White Diamond gave him a strange look.

"I healed Lapis Lazuli's gem before. You think I could heal Nephele?"

White Diamond shook her head.

"The fusion of shards into a single entity takes time. I had heard they created some fusions here on Earth but they... They were in pain."

White Diamond glared at the other two Diamonds.

"I need almost a million more shards to fix Nephele."

"We can help you then!" Steven said, "We have shards! There's a lot of corrupted gems but they need fixed so they can go back to the way they used to be."

"Corrupted?"

Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond shrugged.

"Show me."

 _ **This may be a little longer than I had planned. lol probably another five to six chapters**_


	16. Shards and Corruptions

The Diamonds shrunk themselves down to a little taller than Garnet and headed inside of the beach house. Once they were inside the temple area, White Diamond showed her concern. Her white and black eyes scanned all of the shards and corrupted gems in the bubbles. No one said anything for the longest time.

"Are you able to help?" Steven asked.

"I have never seen this before," White Diamond said, "I know you can't fix the shards though."

"It happened when you tried to rid of the gems on planet Earth," Garnet said.

Blue Diamond covered her face and Yellow Diamond looked annoyed.

"I wonder if it was because Pink Diamond wasn't there to help us," White said as she looked through six of the corrupted gems, "I can't understand how it happened though."

"You can't fix the shards?" Steven asked.

White Diamond shook her head.

"I cannot fix them but I can repurpose them. Give them a new life."

"How? You aren't going to force a fusion on them... Right?" Pearl asked looking at Garnet.

"Heavens no. Not in the form of mutants anyways."

White Diamond looked around to see Nephele wasn't in the temple with them.

"Nephele's body is falling apart. I can fix her using the shards in here."

"Falling apart?" Amethyst asked, "How can she be falling apart?"

"She isn't a stable fusion like Steven over here. I forced everything into her and she was the only one to survive. I can fuse the shards back into her body and create her to a new form."

"She won't look the same?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I had overestimated her time as she is now. I have diamond shards so those will be more useful. Once I fix her I can fix your corrupted friends."

"Did she do something to hasten the process?" Peridot asked, "She looked fine when we found her."

"She has some ability of Diamonds. She could've forced herself to do something that would require a lot of power."

Jasper looked slightly ashamed.

"You mean... fixing my corruption?" she asked.

White Diamond nodded.

"Let me check on her."

White Diamond left the temple and walked back into the living room. Nephele was laying on the couch covered in sweat.

"How are you feeling?" White Diamond asked as she sat down beside of her.

Nephele's hair was plastered to her face and it was turning a weird gray color.

"I feel like the last few thousand years are aging me pretty fast."

"I can see it."

"I didn't think this was going to happen."

White Diamond took her hand then kissed it.

"I wished I did come back for you. I'm sorry I didn't."

"I'm not mad."

They sat there quiet.

X

"She never acted like that with anyone before. Even her own Pearls weren't treated that well."

"They're in love," Blue Diamond said, "We understand so well. We thought we lost Pink Diamond."

Blue Diamond knelt down and held out her hand to Steven.

"I had no idea we could create offspring. I'm so glad to meet you."

"So... You guys are like my aunts? I'm glad to meet you too."

"What is an aunt?" Blue asked looking confused.

"Well Pink Diamond was my Mom. So that would make you guys like her sisters. That makes you an aunt," Steven explained.

"I'm Blue Diamond aunt?"

"No. Aunt Blue."

Blue Diamond grinned, "I like it."

"This is all a waste of time. I'm not here for some pet project. I have more important things to do."

Blue Diamond shot Yellow Diamond a dirty look.

"We are here and this is where we need to be."

Yellow Diamond looked at Steven. He felt nervous. She didn't look like she hated him or anything but maybe she was mad at him.

"Can you tell me what Mom was like?" Steven asked.

Blue Diamond smiled, "She was always moving. She was hardly ever quiet. She a slight temper when she didn't get her way but that was something she picked up from Yellow Diamond. She never let her get her way and treated her like... like a small gem that just emerged from the ground. She was passionate and loving. I miss her very much."

Steven smiled and hugged Blue Diamond's waist. She hugged him back.

"White Diamond will fix your friend. She is pretty great herself."

Steven nodded and smiled.

X

X

"Where are you taking me?" Nephele whispered.

Night had already fallen and everyone was sleeping or in the temple.

"To her garden."

"Whose garden?" she asked sleepily.

"Pink Diamond's garden. Steven told me she had a fountain."

"She was a healer. You think that is going to fix me?" Nephele asked.

"I don't know. I already gathered the shards I needed. I have some from failed Diamond projects I had started."

"Why are you still trying to create Diamonds for?"

"Because... I was hoping to convert you fully instead of using shards or powered gems from our weapons."

"You don't have to try so hard. I'm not mad."

White Diamond held her tight was they went through the warp stream.

"I owe you everything and more."

 _ **I'm sorry for the short chapters. I just don't want to slam everything together into a long chapter where everyone is like 'when is it going to end?' i'll update next week, probably after thanksgiving!**_


	17. Rose and Pink Diamond's Fountain

"I wanted you to come back and start a family of your own. I wanted you to have the things I took away from you so long ago."

"I was no longer human... I wasn't born like Steven."

White Diamond looked at her sadly.

"I could not give up my physical form. I would miss you."

Nephele smiled as she shook her head.

"Can I ask you something?" Nephele asked looking upward slightly.

"Anything."

"Is us being together the best thing?"

She didn't say anything.

"I... I didn't think so."

"I want to be with you whether it's ok or not. I don't want to hide you forever."

Nephele smiled, "Everything happening now... It's enough for me if this is the last time I get to be held by you."

"I don't want this painful for you. This was the best choice first. Before... Before I do other things."

"Shouldn't you ask the other three to help?"

"I think at this point only Steven and Blue Diamond would help."

Nephele nodded.

"You could command her too."

White Diamond forced a bitter smile, "I made them follow those rules and now I'm breaking all of them and some rules didn't even exist but if they did I probably broke them too."

She laughed.

"They claim Rose was the most rebellious but I think you were all along. I love you."

White Diamond stopped.

"I love you too."

White Diamond walked through the trees with pink flowers and the butterflies. Even though it was night, the butterflies were almost more like magic than regular ones. Nephele had lived among Diamonds for almost her whole existence but this was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was such a shame.

"You're breaking."

Nephele looked at her hands. It looked like she was as geode. Her hand was chipping off in big pieces of gems. Once it started falling onto the ground, it was turning to dust. It didn't hurt though and that was ok. The worst part was the painful look on White Diamond's face. That was enough to break her completely.

"You don't need to be sad."

White Diamond said nothing as she stood in front of the fountain.

"It really is pink and it smells like roses."

They gave each other a sad look. Nephele forced a big smile trying to show she was brave but her lips were quivering. She touched her Diamond's face and closed her eyes. She wanted to believe this would work but... She didn't think it would work for her. She wasn't made like everyone else.

White Diamond laid Nephele down into the fountain. The water felt cool and warm at the same time. It didn't even feel like water... the sensation was weird. White Diamond sat on the ground and caressed her face while the love of her existence laid in that fountain. White Diamond took was left of her hand and held it.

"I love you so much."

X

X

It was the next morning. Everyone came out looking around. White Diamond and Nephele were gone sending Blue Diamond into a freaked out and worried frenzy. Pearl and Steven looked at each other. It didn't seem like a big deal to them but even Yellow Diamond looked like she was slightly concerned.

"It's not like her to leave without saying something."

"I mentioned Mom's fountain. Maybe she went there?" Steven said.

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

"I don't see why."

"She might need our help," Blue Diamond said looking worried.

"I don't want to help someone who set up to a create a living war machine to destroy us."

"But she isn't for that!" Steven said, "You saw what happened between them! White Diamond is worried about her well being, not destroying you two!"

"Do you honestly believe you're in a different place than us? No matter what it was to create you, you're still a Diamond!" Yellow Diamond yelled, "Our fate is yours and never forget it!"

Steven closed his mouth and looked at Garnet.

"I don't think that is going to happen. Nephele was created for another purpose but she hasn't tried to destroy anyone. She fixed Jasper's corruption. She befriended Pink Diamond when she wasn't you, Steven. She isn't malicious like some gems," Garnet said with a smile, "We have nothing to worry about."

"You act like she wouldn't do what White Diamond tells her to do. If she loves her that much, she'll do whatever makes her happy."

"She's not a machine! She wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone!" Steven yelled growing more and more upset with every one of Yellow Diamond's words.

"Everyone needs to calm down," Amethyst said, "I'm tired of the yelling and you're upset Steven."

"You think I would listen to someone like you?" Yellow Diamond spat.

"Well, Steven is my best friend and my Diamond so yeah, you better listen!" Amethyst yelled.

"Alright, that's enough!" Jasper yelled stepping in the middle of everyone, "Steven is Pink Diamond and this is his planet. We need to respect how he feels and what he says."

Yellow Diamond threw her arms in the air and yelled something incoherent then left outside.

"Let's go to the fountain," Pearl said placing a hand on Steven's shoulder.

X

X

Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems reached the fountain with Blue Diamond behind them since she had no idea where it was. They made it past the bushes and saw White Diamond sitting in the fountain with Nephele who was still falling apart. Blue Diamond pushed past them and knelt down by the fountain.

"Is it not working?"

White Diamond shook her head slightly.

"What can I do?" she asked.

"Can you get Yellow Diamond?" she asked softly.

Blue Diamond turned around a looked at Steven.

"I'll see what I can do."

The tall blue colored Diamond left the area to head back towards the beach house.

"What can I do?" Steven asked.

"You can sit here with me. Blue is the type to cry too much... I don't want that right now."

Steven offered her a big smile and sat of the ledge of Rose's fountain and waited with her with the rest of his friends.


	18. Fading

"We need to go back."

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

"You think she is going to be any nicer to us even if we help save her little friend?"

Blue Diamond didn't say anything.

"The fact you aren't saying anything, says I'm right."

"She needs us."

"She's our leader. Her personal business is her own."

Yellow Diamond sat on the stairs outside of the beach house.

"She can't save her without the four of us."

Her head snapped to the side, "You mean three? That thing is barely a Diamond. It's half human."

"It doesn't change anything. We have to go. If we don't... Who knows what she will do. Yellow... Think about it."

"If I do it, she should lift the rules."

Blue Diamond sat down beside of her.

"You have had your pearl longer than anyone else. Are you in love with her?"

"No. It isn't her. It was Pink."

Blue Diamond looked surprisingly shocked.

"I had no idea!"

"Because no one knew. She got on my nerves all the time but she was always with me. She never left my side. She told me she was ready for her own planet and how she wanted to make me proud. It was the time my ship lost power and we were in the dark."

Blue Diamond placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Then do what would Pink would do?" she asked quietly.

"Ugh. Fine... let's go."

X

X

"What are you going to have to do?" Steven asked.

"I have all the shards I need to repair her body... It's her mind I have to worry about."

"If she made it through all that stuff from before then I think she will make it through this," Pearl said.

White Diamond glared at her.

"On this planet, we are all equal," Jasper said taking Pearl's hand, "Don't forget that."

"I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was... she is strong. She doesn't seem like the type to allow herself to falter."

White Diamond nodded and returned her attention to her fading lover.

"Nephele... I promise to fix you."

Nephele was no longer awake.

"She's here."

Yellow Diamond stared down at Steven with a weird look on her face.

"You... you came?"

Yellow Diamond nodded.

"What can we do to help?" Blue Diamond asked.

"We can try healing her. She won't last much longer."

Steven smiled at the two Diamonds who just showed up.

"I'm ready if you guys are," Steven said.

Yellow Diamond ignored him and they all sat down together.

"How will this work? How will we know this will work?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Yellow Diamond took a hand and Blue Diamond took the other one. White Diamond placed her hand on Nephele's chest and Steven placed one on her head.

"Here we go."

The four of them closed their eyes. They were engulfed in a matter of seconds leaving the other stunned. No one said anything for the longest time while they waited. No one on the outside of the light could see what was going on.

The light began to fade showing the figures of the Diamonds and Steven. Garnet and Amethyst took a step forward to peer at Nephele but nothing had changed. She looked exactly the same as she was. No one said as a word as White Diamond stared down. She had no expression on her face and that itself was scary enough.

No one dared to move. Not even Steven who looked visibly upset.

X

X

White Diamond sat on the ship with all the doors sealed shut from everyone. She had Nephele laid out on the same bed she was in thousands of years ago. She ignored all calls from Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond. She had no idea she wanted to perform the procedure on Nephele after everything she had already went through once before.

 _What should I do? Should I just let it go? Should I just let her go?_

BAM!

White Diamond looked up with a bewildered look on her face. Peridot jumped down from a duct. She brushed off her body from any dust and waved to White Diamond.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped and Peridot shrank some in fear.

"I um... I am here to help you."

"How can you help me?"

"I made some of those fused shards but I had a hand in the ones that were more uniformed. I wondered if you needed some assistance."

White Diamond gave her a nasty look then it faded to a more thoughtful look.

"Hmmm."

Twenty minutes later White Diamond finally spoke.

"I have around one hundred Diamond shards."

"That's all?" Peridot asked.

"I have other gems. I wanted to make sure she lasted longer so I wanted to use those first before the rest."

Peridot nodded.

"Alright. So you have any papers and any research?"

White Diamond turned around and went through several files on her computer before coming to the one with Nephele's data. The top of the screen said: **XX**.

"That was her name?" Peridot asked.

"Subject XX."

Peridot looked uncomfortable.

"No need to look like that. I know how horrible it is."

"You think... You think you change the name?"

White Diamond shook her head.

"I cannot change who she was. She had asked me one time to leave it. She had read through all of her files quite a few times. She was rather unfazed by it."

"Really?"

White Diamond nodded.

"If she makes it out of this, you will be called on again to help me fix her again. Is that clear?" White Diamond said.

"Crystal clear but as long as she wants to keep coming back."

"Fair enough... Let's get to work."

X

X

Steven sat on the couch watching TV. He felt Yellow Diamond looking at him again.

 _I wonder why she keeps looking at me. I wonder if Pearl would know anything. I wonder if I should talk to her? Maybe she'll stop staring._

"So... you like watching TV?"

Yellow Diamond arched an eyebrow at him.

"Well... You keep watching me... I don't know what you want from me."

Yellow Diamond's cheeks turned a slight orange color.

"What Pink Diamond like your sister?"

"No."

"Oh? Was she your best friend?"

"No."

Steven scratched his head.

"Did um... did you love her?"

"Does it matter what I have to do with her?"

 _Oh... Maybe she loved Mom like Dad and Pearl does._

"What was Mom like?" Steven asked, "Everyone tells me so much but what do you think of her?" Steven asked.

"She was annoying."

 _Ok... maybe not._

"How come you gave her Earth?" Steven asked.

"Is that all humans do? Ask questions?"

"Sometimes, yeah."

Yellow Diamond rubbed her face. He was annoying her. Just like Pink Diamond did... all he was doing was asking questions.

"Can I ask you something else?" Steven asked.

"No."

"Well... Ok."

Steven returned back to his TV trying to ignore the staring eyes of Yellow Diamond.

"Steven?"

He jumped at Jasper's voice.

"Huh? What's up Jasper?" he asked.

"Can you show me how to make this thing called popcorn?"

Steven nodded.

 _Anything to get away from her. I feel like she can tell what I'm thinking almost. I wonder if I should run off to Mom's room later?_

"Did you say something to her?" Jasper whispered so low Steven almost didn't hear her.

He shook his head.

"I don't know what's wrong."

Steven opened the popcorn.

"Remember to take the plastic off," he said showing Jasper.

"If I don't?"

"It will melt the plastic."

"Oh."

"Unfold the sides. Put it in the microwave and press the popcorn button."

Jasper did as he said.

"Now you wait."

Steven looked behind him and Yellow Diamond was still staring at him.

"My Diamond... I can say something to her if you want."

Steven shook his head.

"No... I can go outside if it bothers me too much."

Jasper had a puzzled look on her face.

"You sure? Because she makes me feel weird."

"Yea..."

Yellow Diamond was still staring at him.


	19. The Past

" _Don't you have something better you can do?" Yellow Diamond asked._

 _Pink Diamond shook her head._

" _I like sitting here and watching you."_

" _This is why you don't have your own planet."_

 _Pink Diamond shot her a dirty look._

" _Go play or something."_

" _Um... We are in outer space. I can't just jump off or anything."_

 _Yellow Diamond ran a hand down her face._

" _Can't you... Can't you call someone?"_

" _I guess."_

" _Good. Leave the room then. I have planets I have to decide on."_

 _Pink Diamond made a face. She climbed up Yellow's leg and onto her lap._

" _What are you doing?!" the Diamond yelled._

" _I wanna see. Shouldn't I know how to do things?" Pink Diamond asked innocently._

" _Can't you learn from Blue?"_

 _Pink Diamond leaned back against Yellow Diamond's chest and relaxed._

" _You're in my personal space."_

" _But I'm comfy."_

 _Yellow Diamond groaned._

" _Alright then. See these graphs?"_

" _Yea. This is Planet XR 45. These are elements this planet is made of."_

" _Oh ok. Which is the best one to have?"_

" _All of them actually. Carbon is the one you want most of but It needs to be balanced. The richer it is in everything, the better the gems that come out."_

 _Pink Diamond nodded, "Alright. That does make a lot of sense."_

" _Though, some planets have a low amount or zero of some elements, we can make a certain type of gem that requires those elements instead of the variety. We make use of everything."_

" _That sounds really smart."_

 _Yellow Diamond nodded in agreement._

 _Yellow Diamond went on to explain various things on her screen to Pink Diamond. Even though some of it was self explanatory, some of it was hard to understand. She went on about how they find out the elements and what gem gets what and what they administer to give each one their special power. After a while, Pink Diamond dozed off._

 _Yellow Diamond noticed this within a few minutes and rolled her eyes._

 _ **Always going out like that. What are we going to do?**_

 _Yellow Diamond continued on working while Pink Diamond snoozed._

 _X_

 _X_

" _I'm glad we are back home!"_

 _Pink Diamond hopped out of the yellow arm shaped ship. Yellow Diamond came out behind her with a less than enthused look on her face._

" _Hope your trip went well."_

 _Pink Diamond waved to White Diamond who was waiting patiently for them._

" _How was your trip?" she asked._

 _Pink Diamond hugged her leg, "It was great. I learned a lot!"_

 _White Diamond nodded and smiled as Pink Diamond walked passed her. The large Diamond arched an eyebrow but Yellow Diamond ignored the look._

 _ **Hopefully, I won't have to deal with that again.**_

 _She walked in to see Pink Diamond hugging that weird pearl of White Diamond's._

" _Eritque Arcus."_

 _The small creature looked up at Yellow Diamond._

" _Welcome back Yellow Diamond."_

" _Pink, don't touch that thing."_

 _The creature made a face but she forced a smile anyways._

" _I like her. She tells me about Earth and the strange things that happen there."_

 _Yellow Diamond picked Pink Diamond up and carried her inside._

" _Bye Pink!"_

" _Bye Eritque Arcus!"_

" _I don't see why you would like that_ thing. _"_

" _Because she's different. That's what is so great about her."_

" _One day you'll learn Pink Diamond. You are a Diamond and you can't have those kinds of feelings."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because you can't."_

" _I don't understand. Don't you though? You never thought about it?"_

" _No I haven't."_

" _Oh."_

" _Just drop it Pink."_

" _Oh...ok."_

 _X_

 _X_

"You act just like her."

Steven tore his eyes away from the TV.

"Like who?"

"Pink Diamond."

He looked over to see her avoiding his eyes.

"Is that good or bad?" Steven asked with a small smile on his face.

"Both."

"Is it exciting traveling through space?" he asked.

Yellow Diamond smiled slightly, "Discovering new planets is one of my favorite things."

"Which planet is your favorite then?"

She looked at the ceiling then over at the picture of the rebel, Rose Quartz.

"I suppose for humans it would take hundreds of years to reach it. There's a galaxy we named Twinkling Splat or GTY 784. It holds a planet made of copper and iron. The air is filled with chlorine and argon. Your kind would not make it because there is no oxygen. From the outside to everyone it looks clear with blue streaks but once you hit the surface it's green with a bright blue sky."

"Sounds like... Earth..." Steven said aloud.

"I guess I can see that," she said, "The body of the planet is heavily damaged but you cannot see it until you land on the surface. The color is beautiful."

"I wish I could see it sometime."

Yellow Diamond arched an eyebrow, "I assume since you are a new being you don't have a lot of her memories. Pink Diamond has been there herself. She found the place rather boring. She hadn't learned too much at that point about why we wanted that planet."

"Oh."

They watched TV for a little bit with Jasper poking in and out of the house to make sure Yellow Diamond wasn't trying anything weird.

"Do you wanna see her again?"

She gave him an odd expression.

"I do."

"Let's go to my room then!"

Yellow Diamond looked upward to the loft where Steven's bed was.

"What would that do?"

"No, I mean Mom's room. I guess it's my room."

Steven got up and grabbed her hand. Yellow Diamond stood up and let Steven lead her. The door to the temple opened up.

"Fascinating."

The room was filled with pink puffy clouds.

"This looks like something she would like as hers."

Steven smiled up at Yellow Diamond.

"This room works with how you feel and think. I'll go first."

Rose Quartz appeared out of no where startling Yellow Diamond. She reached out slowly but her hand passed through erasing the image Steven had created.

"Strange."

"Your turn."

Yellow Diamond looked down giving him an unsure look.

"It will be ok."

She stood still and closed her eyes. After a minute she opened them to see the image of Pink Diamond standing there with a smile on her face.

"She looks like... She's actually here."

Steven smiled.

"I always seen her as Rose Quartz. It feels a little weird to think of her as Pink Diamond but... I know that's how you see her."

Yellow Diamond finally moved closer as she didn't hear a single thing he said.

" _Hi Yellow!"_ it said.

Steven looked at it then at Yellow Diamond. The sadness on her face was almost enough to break his heart.

"Pink..."

" _Where are you going today? Can I go with you?"_

"Maybe... Maybe some other time."

Pink Diamond rolled her eyes and shrugged.

" _I can just ask White to see if I can go."_

Yellow Diamond smiled, "I guess you can do that."

Pink Diamond out her tongue. Yellow Diamond reached out and touched the image turning it back into pink clouds.

 _ **Doctor Jupiter: LMAO i laughed so hard XD**_


	20. Her Return

"How is it going, Peridot?" White Diamond asked leaning over her.

"I'm almost to the end already. I restored most of her bodily function."

The Diamond nodded and sat back in her seat.

 _I'm quite surprised she even helped me do anything. Especially for her... She never really cared about anyone else much. I had heard Pink Diamond was more her pet project than anything. Maybe after all this they will leave us alone._

"Peridot?"

"Yes, My Diamond!" she said having a little jump.

"You can call me White Diamond. No need to be so formal when we are alone."

"Yes White Diamond?"

"Do you plan on staying here?" White Diamond asked.

"I... I do."

She gave a nod.

"What makes you want to stay?"

Peridot tapped her chin for a second.

"I feel... at peace here. I don't have to worry about too many things. The organic life here is quite interesting."

White Diamond smiled, "I would have to agree."

"Well... What are your plans after Nephele comes back?"

"We are to leave. I of course would return for your help is she falls... apart again."

Peridot nodded, "I wouldn't mind helping out a friend."

"Friend."

White Diamond watched the monitor of Nephele's vitals. She looked like she was in such deep thought.

"I have no idea what to do about my Pink. I miss her."

"To be honest... I don't think Steven would come with you."

White Diamond shot Peridot a weird and creepy smile.

"I know that already."

Peridot turned back to her work.

"I wonder what Pink was thinking. She always had such strange and different ideas. I guess everything she did doesn't seem so weird anymore. She wasn't created any different than anyone else but... She seemed to break free of Diamond thinking."

"You could ask her pearl."

White Diamond nodded.

"I could but it may be useless. That pearl has a lot of spunk to her. I like that."

Peridot smiled.

 _She does. There is no denying that._

"She might be bound to silence. I could not ask her to break her Diamond's promise."

Peridot nodded.

"There are some limitations I might able to over rule on her body."

"What kind did she have?" White Diamond asked.

"I replaced her human heart with a fully functional fused Diamond. It seems that because most of her body was human instead if gem, the gem part started to deteriorate at a faster rate. The gem like wings she had was one problem. She used it a few times I'm guessing and it sped up the process.

"With Steven, his human DNA merged with his gem. It was flawless when he was created. Since this was installed in her body and even though her body took it... It was like a bomb waiting to go off. Her heart rests inside of the fused Diamond. Her body is hooking up naturally to the gem like she was almost born this way instead."

"How long do you think it will be?"

Peridot shrugged.

"Could be days. Maybe a week or more."

"That's not what I wanted to hear."

"I know."

Peridot typed in a few things on her screen.

"I'm almost done. Once I close up her chest, the wounds should seal up on it's own. I will leave for a few hours and give everyone an update."

"Thank you. I know you have been working two weeks straight without stopping. Thank you for being here."

"No problem White Diamond."

Peridot finished with Nephele's chest cavity and pressed the skin together. She really hoped it would work. There was no telling what White Diamond might do if her lover were to die.

X

Peridot stretched and headed into the beach house. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond were on the couch with Steven in the middle. The three of them were glued to the TV until the screen door slammed shut behind her. Pearl appeared on the warp pad with Steven's clothes in a laundry basket.

"Peridot! How is she?" Pearl asked throwing the basket on the counter.

"I finished everything now... We just have to wait to see if she will wake up."

"You mean there is no guarantee that worked?" Blue Diamond asked.

Peridot shook her head.

"She wasn't made like Steven. I pretty much fixed most of her flaws that had accelerated her body falling apart. It seems those crystal wings she has was the main problem."

Garnet came inside with Amethyst trailing behind her.

"What's up P?"

"Nothing much. I finished Nephele's surgery."

"Awesome! Garnet, do you know when she will wake up?" Amethyst asked.

"She can tell you if this works?" Yellow Diamond asked looking skeptical.

"Hm..."

Garnet sat down by the window.

"In a week we will know something. There is no way for me to pinpoint how this turns out since this is... Different."

"Hopefully it works," Steven said.

X

X

" _Where am I?"_

 _Nephele looked around. The place she was at was just white._

" _Hm... I remember being at Pink's fountain then... Nothing after that."_

 _She plopped down where she was standing and looked upward._

" _My chest feels a little weird. I wonder why."_

 _Nephele looked down and ran her hand across it._

" _It kind of hurts but more like a scratch. Did I get hurt?"_

 _She closed her eyes trying to think. To remember._

" _I wish I knew where I was."_

" _It looks like your suspended here."_

 _Nephele opened her eyes to see Pink Diamond stand a few feet away from her._

" _Pink!"_

 _Nephele got up and ran towards but hit an imaginary wall._

" _What the hell?"_

" _We are separated."_

" _Oh... That's not fair. I wanted a hug."_

 _Pink Diamond chuckled._

" _You look like you've seen some kind of battle."_

 _Nephele shrugged._

" _I know the Diamonds came to Earth."_

 _Pink Diamond frowned, "Are they after Steven?"_

 _She shook her head._

" _Kind of but mostly after me."_

 _Pink Diamond sighed._

" _I don't think White would let anything happen to him."_

" _I guess I have to trust that."_

 _Nephele laid her head on the invisible wall._

" _I feel... so tired."_

" _Really?"_

 _She nodded._

" _What happened to you?" Pink Diamond asked._

" _I started falling apart."_

" _Falling apart?"_

 _She nodded, "My body couldn't keep up anymore with the gem side I suppose."_

" _You died?" Pink Diamond asked._

 _Nephele collapsed to the ground rubbing her face._

" _Are you ok?!" Pink Diamond cried._

" _I don't feel dead."_

 _She looked up to see the concern on her friend's face._

" _I don't feel dead. I feel worn out."_

" _Perhaps you are waking up?"_

 _Nephele shrugged and laid on the ground on her back._

" _Nephele."_

" _Hm?"_

" _Can you tell everyone I miss them?"_

" _Sure."_

" _Tell Steven I am sorry. Tell him I love him."_

 _She smiled and looked up at her pink friend._

" _I will."_

" _It... it's so hard not being able to say anything. Every time he feels sad, I can't make him feel better. It is so hard."_

" _You have nothing to worry about. Pearl is there for him. Garnet and Amethyst. Some new friends."_

 _Pink Diamond's eyes watered up._

" _I'm glad."_

" _Yellow misses you. She won't say it."_

 _Nepehele blinked sleepily._

" _I miss her. She makes me laugh. I miss Blue too and White. I miss my family."_

 _Nephele gave her a smile and closed her eyes._

 _X_

"They miss you too."

"Nephele?"

She opened her eyes staring at the ceiling of White Diamond's ship.


	21. Fixed

"You're ok!"

White Diamond embraced her. Nephele had no idea what was going on.

"What? Where is Pink Diamond?"

White Diamond pulled away and looked at her.

"What do you mean? She wasn't here."

"Oh. I was just talking to her... I wonder..."

"What did she say then?"

"She misses everyone."

White Diamond smiled.

"That sounds like her."

"Was... Was I dead?" Nephele asked, "I can't tell."

"I thought you were but maybe you were just hanging on."

Nephele looked down seeing an angry pink scar on her chest.

"What happened to me?" she asked.

"Peridot helped me fix you."

"Oh."

"You won't be falling apart on me anytime soon."

She traced her fingers on the scar.

"You were out almost a month."

"I don't remember anything but showing up at Pink's fountain. Some of my thoughts and memories are fuzzy. Am I... am I going to be ok?"

White Diamond hugged her tight, "I hope so."

"White?"

"Hm?"

"Am I staying with you forever? You aren't going to make me stay here without you... right?"

White Diamond shook her head.

"I won't be leaving you ever again."

Nephele threw her arms around White Diamond's neck and pressed her lips against hers. White Diamond held her close.

X

X

"I'm glad you're ok!" Steven said opening up the pizza box in front of him.

"Thank you for throwing me a party."

The Diamonds were outside waiting out the party.

"I can't believe you are leaving after this."

Nephele gave Jasper a smile.

"I've been waiting a long time to go home. I might have been born here but my place will always be at White Diamond's side. I do promise to come back and visit if we come near enough. I mean if that's ok with everyone."

"We love for you to come back," Pearl said with a smile.

"Oh!" Nephele took Steven's hand, "Your mom said she is sorry and she loves you. I don't know where I was exactly but I saw her before I woke up. She's very happy all of you have decided to stick by her. She's glad you have new friends Steven."

Everyone looked shocked.

"You... you spoke with her?" Pearl whispered.

She nodded, "It was a weird place. I didn't feel dead or anything at the time. I guess I was in an in between place?"

Peridot sat on the couch watching them all talk. She was really glad she was able to help out.

"You want some pizza, P?" Amethyst asked.

"Hm, no. I do not enjoy the passing of food in my body like you."

Amethyst laughed and shoved another piece in her mouth.

"Can you call sometimes?" Steven asked.

"I can try."

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

 _I finally made it._

"Maybe sometime I can go see Homeworld for myself."

Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe when you're older."

"That sounds good."

Pearl laughed nervously, "Maybe in a few years."

"I'm glad Mom is ok."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

For the next hour they swapped stories about what it was like being around Pink Diamond and Rose. Some of them were funny or pretty serious but they mostly stayed away from the sad stuff. Since the Diamonds came, it was like Steven knew more about his mother than before. It brought him some kind of peace.

It was close to ten at night when it was finally time for them to leave. Nephele ran down the stairs and jumped into White Diamond's waiting arms. They kissed for the longest time making Yellow Diamond uncomfortable but Blue Diamond thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

"Come back in four years!" Steven yelled, "I want to visit home too!"

Nephele laughed, "Of course! It would be my pleasure!"

They boarded their ships. Yellow Diamond was the first to leave then Blue Diamond. White Diamond sat down in her chair and relaxed. Nephele punched in the coordinates for home and sat on her lap. She placed her hand on her cheek and gave her soft kiss on her black lips.

"Finally... I can go home with you."

"I was wondering if you would take Pink Diamond's place?" White Diamond asked.

"What? Why?"

"Her subjects have been waiting for her return for thousands of years. I figured a new leader would finally help them. You would have freedom to do as you wish."

"Are you worried about how everyone would take it?"

"Slightly. I have new rules I want to implement and I might need your help."

"Alright then. Does Yellow know?"

White Diamond laughed, "Not yet."

"That sounds like a fun talk."

White Diamond kissed her cheek.

"Let's head home My Diamond."

Nephele smiled as they shot through space towards Homeworld.

-The End-

 _ **I actually had planned on ending this a lot sooner with a much different ending. I was going to have Nephele actually die. White Diamond would warn the Crystal Gems that if Steven died, she would be back for Pink Diamond whether they liked it or not.**_

 _ **But I am glad I went with this route instead : ) I apologize for it being short but I didn't wanna drag out the happy ending any longer than needed.**_


End file.
